Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to
me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the
name of the Lord of hosts, the
God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
We, who are God’s children, regardless of who we are,
will face many challenges in this life. How big the circumstances seem to us
will be determined by how big we see our God. David was just a teenager when he
faced Goliath. Goliath was no small man and an experienced warrior; he was a
giant (humanly speaking that is). As a matter of fact, he was such a large man,
and so ferocious, that Saul and Israel’s army fled from him and feared him
greatly (v. 11, 24). When David, a mere shepherd boy, came onto the scene to
bring food for his older brothers and the army, he was made aware of what was
happening. His response, unlike everyone else’s, to Goliath’s threats was to
question, “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the
armies of the living God?” (v. 26) The difference between David’s
response and the entire Israeli army’s response was that David saw the fight as
God’s fight, and not his own. The fact of the matter is that when we face the
enemies and giants in our lives, the fight is really not our own. The reason we
face many of life’s challenges, as born again believers, is that the world
stands against the One who saved us, Jesus Christ (Jn 15:18-25). We must never
forget that there is nothing that God will allow us to face that is bigger than
He is, because nothing exists that is greater than our Lord. Before David ever
confronted Goliath, his first challenge was the critics around him. His oldest
brother Eliab, who was rejected by God when Samuel was looking for a king to
replace King Saul (1 Sam 16:6-7), was the first to criticize and falsely accuse
David about his intentions (v. 28). When we step out to do what God has called
us to do, especially when the task seems humanly impossible, there will be those
who will criticize us and tell us how crazy we are to even attempt it. They may
even tell us that we are delusional in thinking that it is God’s will and plan
for our life of service to Him. Quite often, this type of criticism comes from
people, even other Christians, who are afraid of taking such a step of faith in
serving God sacrificially. As if that were not enough, King Saul then tries to
outfit David with his own armor, which turned out to be too cumbersome, and
would be more of a hindrance than a help. As we face great challenges, there
will be some well-meaning people who will come along, who think they are
helping by trying to give us “safe” advice, but in actuality will hinder what
God is trying to do in our lives. Yes, we are supposed to seek wise counsel (Pr
12:15; Pr 24:6), but ultimately, the One who should be directing our path of
service, and what steps we take when we face great giants in our lives, is God.
Ultimately, David had victory against Goliath because he went into the battle
with the proper perspective and sure about His faith in the Lord. God had
already proven that He could protect David when he faced the bear and the lion,
protecting his father’s sheep (v. 34-37). Little did he know that God was
preparing him, at that time, for this moment in time, when he once again would
be protecting our Heavenly Father’s sheep against another ferocious beast, in
the form of this giant, Goliath. David faced the giant, not taking the threats
and insults as personal attacks against him, but rather against His God. The
bottom line is that the battle of life, especially against our greatest
enemies, Satan and his demons, is a fight that belongs to God. This is why we
are told in Scripture that in order to resist Satan and make him flee we are to
draw near to God, who will in turn draw near to us (Jm 4:7-8). Beloved, the battle
is not ours…the battle is the Lord’s. In Him, and Him alone will we have
victory over the giants we face in this life.
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