Week of Sunday, June 21, 2026 · Devotionals · 1 Samuel 17:25-49

What About Manhood?

Our culture is deeply confused about manhood. Some say masculinity itself is the problem; others say it means dominance, aggression, and power. Preaching on Father's Day from his deployment in the Middle East, Pastor James Drake takes us into one of the most famous scenes in Scripture — David and Goliath, 1 Samuel 17 — and shows that the valley is crowded with three men, but only one of them understands what true manhood looks like. There is Goliath: nearly ten feet tall, all strength and pride, using his power for his own glory. That is toxic masculinity — strength without submission, which always ends in destruction. There is Saul: the biggest, most experienced, most responsible man in Israel, who hears the giant and does absolutely nothing. That is passive masculinity — the fear of man instead of the fear of God, and Drake argues it is the greater and more overlooked threat today: men waiting for someone else to lead, to pray, to step up. And then there is David: not toxic, not passive, but strong — courageous, humble, and utterly dependent on God. The thesis runs through the whole message like a drumbeat: biblical masculinity is strength surrendered to God for His glory and the good of others. Drake reminds us that David was not prepared in the valley but in the pasture — faithful with lions and bears that nobody saw, long before the giant nobody could miss. Everyone wants the platform; nobody wants the process. But here is the twist: we are not really David in this story. We are Israel — afraid, powerless, unable to save ourselves — until our true Champion steps forward. Jesus is the greater David. David defeated a giant; Jesus defeats sin and death, and shares the victory with His people. The hope of Christianity is not that you become David; it is that Jesus becomes your Savior. So what do we do? We run toward our giant. Faith moves; fear hesitates. Most giants don't live in valleys — they live in our homes, our marriages, our parenting, our habits, our fears, and our excuses. Not perfect men, but faithful men, whose strength is surrendered to God.

Monday · Monday, June 22, 2026

Strength Without Submission

"The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”"

— 1 Samuel 17:44 (ESV)

Everything about Goliath says, 'Look at me.' Look at how big I am, how strong I am, look at what I can do. He stands nearly ten feet tall. His armor weighs more than some middle schoolers. The tip of his spear alone weighs fifteen pounds — imagine carrying around a bowling ball on the end of a stick and throwing it as a weapon. He is huge, and he is terrifying. But Goliath's real problem was never his size. It was his pride. His strength existed for one purpose: his own glory.

That is what the Bible would call toxic masculinity — strength without God. And it is worth saying plainly, especially in a culture that often treats strength itself as the problem: strength is not the issue. Goliath's sin was not that he was powerful. It was that his power had no master above it. He answered to no one. He used his size to intimidate, to dominate, to make a name for himself. Strength aimed at self-glory always curves, eventually, into destruction.

Here is the uncomfortable truth for any of us tempted to measure manhood by raw capability: the strongest man in the room is not necessarily the godliest man in the room. A man can bench four hundred pounds and still be spiritually weak. A man can run a company and still fail to lead his family. A man can conquer a boardroom and still be conquered by his own sin. Goliath had strength, but he had no submission — and strength without submission is just a louder way to fall.

This is why the gospel does not ask men to become less strong. It asks them to surrender their strength to a King. The whole message of David and Goliath turns on one sentence worth memorizing this week: biblical masculinity is strength surrendered to God for His glory and the good of others. The opposite of toxic masculinity is not weakness. It is strength on its knees.

So take an honest inventory today. Where is your strength actually pointed — at your glory, or at God's and your neighbor's good? Your gifts, your drive, your competence, your influence are not the problem. The only question is whose name they serve.

Prayer: Father, You gave me whatever strength I have, and too often I have spent it building my own name. Forgive me for the pride that wants to be seen. Take my strength — my gifts, my drive, my influence — and bend it under Your authority, for Your glory and the good of the people around me. Make me strong in the only way that lasts: surrendered to You. In Jesus' name, amen.

Reflect: Where is your strength currently aimed — at your own glory, or at God's glory and the good of others? Name one specific gift or area of competence and ask honestly whose name it is serving.

More Resources → 2026 Bible Reading Plan