By Glen Callanan
Brothers and Sisters at Grace Church St. Louis,
We know the story well. In the Valley of Elah the armies of Israel stood still while a giant named Goliath mocked them and their God for forty days. King Saul and his trained soldiers had the weapons, the numbers, and the official position—yet fear held them back.
Then a young shepherd named David arrived. He was the underdog by every human measure: the youngest brother, untrained in battle, without armor that fit. But David carried something the army lacked—a living faith in the living God. David was stirred by zeal for God’s honor when he heard Goliath defy “the armies of the living God.” And he acted. One smooth stone. One act of trust. The giant fell, the Philistines fled, and Israel saw that “the battle is the Lord’s.”
Missouri stands in its own valley this November. Amendment 3 will ask voters to restore protections for the unborn, require parental consent, reinstate basic health and safety standards for abortion facilities, and constitutionally prohibit irreversible gender-transition procedures on minors. The opposition is well-funded, organized, and already holding a clear financial advantage (most likely outspent 4-1 or more).
That is why David’s story speaks so directly to us at Grace Church. We are not called to trust in larger campaign budgets or cultural popularity. We are called to the same posture David showed: confidence that the God who values every life made in His image still acts, and that He often chooses unlikely people to stand when others will not. Our confidence rests not in our own strength but in the Lord who has already shown Himself faithful—in our own lives, in the gospel we preach, and in the history of His people.
This is not a call to anger or partisanship. It is a call to faithful presence. Like David, we must remember what God has already done. Like David, we must care more about the honor of God’s name and the protection of the vulnerable than about appearing safe or popular. And like David, we must move—from prayer to conversation, from conviction to action.
What does that look like for members of Grace Church?
It looks like praying specifically and regularly for the passage of Amendment 3 and for the hearts of undecided neighbors. It looks like having calm, clear conversations with friends and family who are uncertain, grounded in Scripture and in the dignity of every human life. It looks like volunteering time in the final weeks—distributing information, encouraging voter registration, and helping others get to the polls. It looks like supporting pregnancy resource centers and continuing the everyday work of mercy that already marks Grace Church. And it looks like showing up on November 3 to vote, not in fear of the odds, but in quiet trust that the Lord still uses ordinary people who are willing. David did not wait for equal resources. He did not demand that the conditions be favorable before he stepped forward. He simply trusted the God who had already proven faithful and ran toward the challenge. We are invited to the same faith.
Grace Church has long valued the Word, the gospel, and the call to live as salt and light. This moment is one more opportunity to put that calling into practice. The opposition may have more money. We have the same God who delivered David. The stone is small. The sling is simple. The outcome belongs to the Lord. But the call to stand remains.
Let us meet it together—with faith, with energy, and with our eyes fixed on the One who still fights for the vulnerable. Will we stand like David and defend the weakest of our flock or will we wait for more resources?
The battle is the Lord’s. Let’s walk in that confidence.
