Today we’ll talk about David and Goliath. Yesterday at church, we received a really encouraging message. I’m going to share it with you, but with my own twist… God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. The story begins in 1 Samuel 17. In summary, the Israelites were in battle with the Philistines. One major problem…There was a 9 ft giant named Goliath, who was a champion of the Philistine army. Every day for forty days, he would strut in front of the Israelites and taunt them…
“Why are you all coming out to fight? he called. I am the Philistine Champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill you, you will be our slaves. I defy the armies of Israel today. Send me a man who will fight me!” 1 Samuel 17: 8-10
The Bible says that the Israelites were terrified and deeply shaken – so each side was waiting for the other to attack. The thing that I would like to stress is…
Goliath was relentless and scary; he taunted them every day. I guess my question to you is… What is your giant taunting you about every day? What does your giant say to you? Maybe it’s, “You’re not good enough. You’re never going to do this. You’re a loser. The suffering is never going to end, so you might as well give up.” Maybe your giant is a bitter or unforgiving attitude towards someone…you know, the kind of mental torture in where you see that person’s face in your mind, and the argument or disagreement keeps on playing over and over. I’m sure that whatever your giant is saying to you – it makes you feel worthless, or tells you that your situation is hopeless.
I encourage you to read this story in 1 Samuel 17. David kills Goliath with only a sling and a stone. What made him effective, however, was more than his ability with a sling; it was his courage and faith in God. To fight like David, we need that kind of fearlessness. The Bible is constantly telling us that whenever we face our giants and towering problems, we can take heart because God gives us strength. Sometimes we can do nothing to help ourselves – we simply can only rely on God. Here are some scriptures we can lean on…
“We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.”2 Corinthians : 9-10
So the next time your giant reminds you of past failures and hopelessness, here’s what you can remind him…
“But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.” 2 Timothy 4: 17-18
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished in the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6