Are you facing a giant? Is there something in your life that is taunting you, causing you to lose heart? Something that makes you doubt God is with you?
Reading in 1 Samuel 17 today.
So to set the stage, for 40 days a giant named Goliath was demoralizing the entire army of Saul. Not one man would fight him, one-on-one. The army had taken their eyes off the Lord and put them onto the enemy.
And this guy was huge, his spear was reported to have a head on it that weighed about the same as a bowling ball!
David hears the taunts and because of his relationship with God and love for God he volunteers to fight the giant.
"David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth."
But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."
Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you." 1 Samuel 17:32-34 (NIV)
If you notice, he didn't say, "I'm really good with a sling shot...." what he pointed to was a history of God enabling him to defeat first a lion, then a bear. He never imagined his past accomplishments to be anything but God giving the victory.
How do we move forward when we are facing a giant? It's tempting to go around it, or to even run in the opposite direction.
Sometimes it is good to take a moment to reflect on all the victories God has given us. We need to remember that it is not by our own strength and power that we accomplished anything.
"'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty." Zechariah 4:6 (NIV)
Knowing of God's past deliverance, how did David face his giant?
"As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground." 1 Sam 17:48-49 (NIV)
A study of the life of David shows that his life did not get any easier after this. In fact, the life of a simple shepherd was far more appealing in many ways than the life David would have from this moment forward.
To be a "man after God's own heart" is not an easy road, but for David it was the only road to take.
"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:14 (NIV)
