I’ve been thinking about David and Goliath lately. I have been facing some giants of my own and I thought it would be wise to see how the famous giant slayer did it.
We all face giants. They may not look like Goliath but they instill just as much fear and anxiety. They keep us up at night. They rob of us of joy and replace it with worry. Perhaps your giant is a chronic illness that has left you hurting and weary. Maybe it’s a mountain of financial struggles. Or a strained relationship on the verge of breaking.
What can we learn from a simple shepherd boy? How did he do it? How was he able to face Goliath with such confidence? Why did he not run away and hide like all the rest of his countrymen?
Two things stand out to me.
First, he knew who was on his side.
1 Samuel 17:45-46
David replied to the Philistine, “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…
David was not facing Goliath alone. He had the Lord of Heaven’s Armies on his side. He didn’t trust in his own strength or armor or weapons. He trusted God. He knew the battle was in God’s hands. He chose faith over fear.
Second, he remembered what God had done before.
1 Samuel 17:32-37
“Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
David had confidence because he had seen God rescue him before. His faith was even stronger because he had faced giants in the past and seen God’s mighty hand. David remembered God’s faithfulness.
I don’t know what giant you are facing today. But I know that God is bigger, that He loves you and He is on your side.
Let’s pray for God to open our eyes like Elisha’s servant in 2 Kings 6:16, so that we can see that “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Let’s not let ourselves be robbed of joy. Let’s put our trust in the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Let’s choose faith over fear.
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For His Glory,
Demetrios