Getting In Your Bag When Life Feels Unfair
“David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, and struck the Philistine.” - 1 Samuel 17:49
In the NBA, people argue all the time about who has the best bag. They’re not talking about a backpack or a designer pouch. They mean skill. Handles you can trust. Footwork that holds up under pressure. Counters that work when the defense knows what’s coming. When the game tightens, great players don’t ask for easier matchups. They go to what they already have. They get in their bag.
That idea matters because life works the same way. Pressure doesn’t wait for you to feel ready. Unfair situations don’t pause to explain themselves. Sometimes you’re thrown into moments you didn’t choose, with disadvantages you didn’t create. When that happens, the instinct is to complain about the setup or wish you had someone else’s tools. Getting in your bag means resisting that impulse and leaning into what has already been developed.
David understood this before anyone else did. When everyone around him tried to fix the situation by dressing him up in Saul’s armor, he knew it wouldn’t work. That armor looked impressive, but it wasn’t his. Instead, David reached for what he had used before. A sling. Stones. Skills formed in the field when no one was watching. His bag wasn’t flashy, but it was proven.
What’s powerful about David’s story is not that the fight was fair. It wasn’t. He was overlooked, underestimated, and outmatched on paper. Still, he didn’t wait for life to balance the scales. He showed up anyway with what God had already placed in his hands. His confidence didn’t come from hype. It came from memory. He had faced lions and bears before this moment ever arrived.
Some of you are facing things right now that feel unfair. A situation you didn’t ask for. A responsibility you shouldn’t have had to carry. When that pressure hits, God isn’t asking you to become someone else. He’s asking you to trust what He’s already built in you. You may not like the hand you were dealt, but you can still win with it.
Getting in your bag is not arrogance. It’s faith. Faith that preparation came first. Faith that God knew what He was doing when He equipped you. What you need for this moment is already there.
In the NBA, people argue all the time about who has the best bag. They’re not talking about a backpack or a designer pouch. They mean skill. Handles you can trust. Footwork that holds up under pressure. Counters that work when the defense knows what’s coming. When the game tightens, great players don’t ask for easier matchups. They go to what they already have. They get in their bag.
That idea matters because life works the same way. Pressure doesn’t wait for you to feel ready. Unfair situations don’t pause to explain themselves. Sometimes you’re thrown into moments you didn’t choose, with disadvantages you didn’t create. When that happens, the instinct is to complain about the setup or wish you had someone else’s tools. Getting in your bag means resisting that impulse and leaning into what has already been developed.
David understood this before anyone else did. When everyone around him tried to fix the situation by dressing him up in Saul’s armor, he knew it wouldn’t work. That armor looked impressive, but it wasn’t his. Instead, David reached for what he had used before. A sling. Stones. Skills formed in the field when no one was watching. His bag wasn’t flashy, but it was proven.
What’s powerful about David’s story is not that the fight was fair. It wasn’t. He was overlooked, underestimated, and outmatched on paper. Still, he didn’t wait for life to balance the scales. He showed up anyway with what God had already placed in his hands. His confidence didn’t come from hype. It came from memory. He had faced lions and bears before this moment ever arrived.
Some of you are facing things right now that feel unfair. A situation you didn’t ask for. A responsibility you shouldn’t have had to carry. When that pressure hits, God isn’t asking you to become someone else. He’s asking you to trust what He’s already built in you. You may not like the hand you were dealt, but you can still win with it.
Getting in your bag is not arrogance. It’s faith. Faith that preparation came first. Faith that God knew what He was doing when He equipped you. What you need for this moment is already there.
Subscribe Now for Free Daily Devotions
Recent
Archive
2026
January
When God Feels Silent but is Still at WorkHow to Rebound After a Crushing LetdownWhen Your World Falls Apart After You Did Everything RightGod Is Still Building Roads in the DesertThe Chapter That Comes After TraumaWhen Hope Feels GoneWhen Your Words Start Working Against YouGod’s Resume Is Bigger Than Your SituationWaiting on God is Not Doing NothingBefore Circumstances ChangeGetting In Your Bag When Life Feels UnfairWinning With a Bad HandOverlooked, Insulted, and Still ChosenPrepared in the Field Before the Giant AppearsYou Were Trained for This MomentTaking Off Armor That Does Not FitFormed in the Field, Not on the StageWhen the Battle Is Not Actually YoursWhen You Feel the Urge to Go Through God’s PhoneFaith After Disappointment Still CountsKeep Showing Up Even When You Are ConfusedLocked Doors Do Not Stop JesusWhen You Need an Encounter for YourselfDoubt as a DoorwaySaying What Hurts When God Is in the RoomWhere Faith and Fear CollideShutdown Does Not Mean FinishedWhen Opposition Shows Up Mid-ProgressBuilding Without Responding to the MockeryA Mind to Work in the Middle of WearinessThe Wall Rose Because the People Did Not Quit
2025
January
Plenty of RoomThankful for Your SeatWho God Invites to the TableThat’s the PointWe Do Not Have a Monopoly on GodStop Talking So LoudLet God Handle the Guest ListA Long-Awaited ReunionSeeing Jesus for YourselfIn Possession of a Personal PromiseGet in the Right PositionReady to ReceiveAligning Your Life for God's PromiseWaiting with ExpectancyGrounded in PrayerStrength in PrayerPatience Through PrayerStay Focused Through PrayerGod's Conditional PromisesGod’s PriorityGrounded in FaithTrusting God's TimingThe Assurance of God's PromisesIs It Well With Your Soul?Health vs. HealingStewarding Your BodyA Holistic View of SpiritualityGod Cares About Your BodyWhat You Put in MattersNourishing Your SoulThe Power of Prevention
February
The Power of a ComebackHealing from the PastStop Blaming and Start TrustingBury the Past to Claim the FutureFacing Trauma with TruthCelebrate That You SurvivedRepair What is BrokenNothing God Can’t FixDon’t Swing at Bad PitchesStick to God’s PlanDon’t Let Desperation Drive YouShift Your WeightWho Knows Best?A Good Idea Isn’t Always a God IdeaPeace in God’s PlanFinding Purpose in God’s PlanProsperity in God’s PlanTrusting God’s Plan, Pace, and ProcessKnowing When to PivotGod Hasn’t Given Up on YouNext-Level Faith Requires PerseveranceA New Revelation of GodIt’s Not All About YouNext-Level ConnectionsNext-Level CommitmentA Prayer That Moves GodPrayers That Carry a BurdenPray With Boldness
1 Comment
Amen pastor i'm currently going to that right now feeling unsane, being a single parent, having what I have raised all my kids by myself, my 2 younger ones, which are teenagers but sometimes I have like life wasn't fair because no one helped me out now om just lookingback on my life at 51. Just thinking about things in my life just looking over things. But I know God built strength up in the resilience.