giants that we face in life, things that may seem like insurmountable
problems.
It may be something we’re afraid of or something we’re under
the power of. It may be something that seems to always loom large and never stop
bothering us. Maybe you overcame this giant for a week or even a month and
thought you had victory. And then it came back with a vengeance and brought you
down.
In the Bible we find the story of a young man who was able to bring
his giant down…
David was both a fighter and a lover. He was a king, and he also was a
sinner.
But when we’re introduced to him in Scripture, he was a shepherd
boy watching over his flock. He was one of the sons of a man named Jesse, who
lived in Bethlehem. God had spoken to the prophet Samuel and basically said,
“I’m done with King Saul. He’s out. My new king is from the house of Jesse, in
Bethlehem.” So the prophet Samuel went to Bethlehem.
When a prophet
showed up, it was a big deal. The whole town turned out, and they all were
waiting to hear what the prophet had to say. Samuel offered a sacrifice, and
then he asked Jesse to bring out his boys. Jesse had seven strapping boys, and
he brought them before the visiting prophet. They were the magnificent seven for
sure. As the prophet looked at them, he was wondering who the next king would
be.
Then he saw Eliab, the tallest of the sons, and thought maybe he was
the one. But God said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I
have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People
judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (2 Samuel 16:7
NLT).
Among the whole gang of seven, not one of them was the right one.
Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more boys.
Jesse said, in effect, “Yeah,
I’ve got one more. He’s out in the field. He watches over the sheep.”
So
they sent for David. And when David showed up, the Lord said, “This is the one;
anoint him” (verse 12 NLT). The prophet anointed David as Israel’s next king,
and then he left.
Fast-forward, and the children of Israel are in a
conflict with their longtime enemies, the Philistines. The Philistines and their
army were camped on one side of the big Valley of Elah, while the Israelites
were on the other side. David’s father sent him on an errand to take food to his
brothers who were serving in the Israeli army.
Then David heard some
overgrown man strutting around in the valley, posing a challenge to Israel to
send someone to fight him. It was Goliath, a gigantic 9-feet-6-inches of solid
muscle, covered head to toe in body armor. He was saying, “I’ll make you a deal.
If the guy that fights me wins, the Philistines will serve you. But if I win,
you will serve us.”
David basically said, “Why isn’t someone fighting
him? He’s mocking God.”
“No one wants to fight him.”
“I will fight
him!”
“You and what army?” they effectively said, probably after they got up
off the ground from laughing.
“The Lord and me. I’ll face him by faith, and
I’ll go now.”
So little David went out to face this warrior. The Bible
tells us that he “triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone,
for he had no sword. Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its
sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw
that their champion was dead, they turned and ran” (1 Samuel 17:50–51
NLT).
What we learn from this story about facing our giants is that the
battle belongs to the Lord. David knew this. He said to Goliath, “You come to me
with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies – the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today
the Lord will conquer you” (verses 45–46 NLT).
Giants defeat us again and
again because we face them in our own strength – and we lose. The Bible tells us
to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10 NKJV).
In other words, you can’t defeat your giants in your own strength. You can only
do it through God’s strength. We rest in his strength when we face our giants,
and we recognize that it is a spiritual battle.
Whatever your problem is
right now, pray about it. Is something troubling you? Pray about it. Turn your
worries into prayers. Turn your fears into prayers. Turn your problems into
petitions. The Bible says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about
everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you
will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace
will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7
NLT). When you pray, your perspective changes.
We also learn from this
story that we must attack our giants. If you tolerate a giant, he’ll take over
your territory. He’ll come right up onto your doorstep. That’s why you don’t run
from giants, you attack them. That’s what David did. As Goliath moved closer to
attack, David ran quickly to meet him. David didn’t just hold his ground; he ran
in Goliath’s direction. And he didn’t just attack his giant; he finished him
off. If you don’t kill your giants, your giants will kill you. So finish them
off.
We all will face severe hardships in life. We all will face
seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We all will deal with temptation. But every
giant is conquerable. Let’s face our giants in faith and realize that God is
bigger than any problem, than any obstacle we will face in life.
[written
by Greg Laurie, a senior pastor]
