In our Men's Group last night we were talking about the story of David and Goliath - perhaps one of the most famous and well-known passages within all of Scripture. A couple of observations from this story that I think are eye-opening.
David had very little that he carried into battle. He had his staff, 5 smooth stones, and a sling-shot of sorts. On the other hand, Goliath had a sword, a spear, and a javelin. I don't know about you, but if I'm betting (not that I would), I'd bet on the guy with the sword, spear, and javelin. Not to mention that he was also a "Giant Philistine Champion." Still, the story ends rather unexpectedly as David comes out the victor and ends up killing Goliath.
As we wrapped up our discussion, we talked about some of the "Goliath's" in our own lives. I think it's safe to say that we all have them. Some of us face emotional giants like depression and loneliness. Others of us have physical giants such as illnesses and handicaps. Still others of us suffer from behavioral giants such as addictions and other hard-to-break habits. And since we all have them to some degree or another (some of us more than one), how do we deal with them? What are some possible strategies for facing these giants?
May I suggest that David offers us some incredible insights, here are two:
One, he is fully confident in God. Despite the fact that Goliath looked incredibly large and scared every other Israelite to death, David knew that his God was much bigger than Goliath was (see I Sam. 17:26). We too have a God who loves to defy the odds when we allow him to be part of the battle. It sets the stage for miracles and other supernatural and unexplainable phenomena to occur. Good things happen when we put our faith, trust, and hope in God. It worked well for David and it can work well for us.
Secondly, David entered the battle "in the name of the Lord Almighty." We too should enter confidently into the battle against our giants by relying upon the Lord God Almighty to guide us and direct us along the way. Way too often, we go into battle all-alone and try to fight off these giants by ourselves and under our own power. I can tell you from experience that this won't work and that you're giant will never truly go away.
So, whatever your giant may be, face your Goliath head-on in the confidence that God will be at your side to direct you in the way that you should go.
