1 Samuel 17:2-11
Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.
Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “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 him, you will be our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!”
When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.
As many of you know, David heard and accepted this challenge, and went on to kill the giant, but the truth is, that I am less interested in what he did, than in how he did it, because we face Giants every day, well armored challenges that seem too BIG to handle, and if we understand how David tackled his GIANT, we may have the wisdom to tackle our own.
Giants can show up on any ordinary day. We can be going along with our normal lives -and bam!- there one is. Saul’s army was doing just what army’s do; even when approached by the Philistines, the army expected to fight. David wasn’t even supposed to be on the battlefield that day, he was just bringing bread to his brothers as instructed by his father and planning a short visit with them when he heard the taunting of Goliath.
Now let us pause and think about how big the Giant was; how enormous his stature; how he towered over the soldiers. Giants, by their very nature, are intimidating; their great size makes us feel smaller than we are, even if we previously thought ourselves strong and capable. Goliath knew this, and he taunted the soldiers.
“I am the Philistine champion, but you are ONLY the servants of Saul,” he reminded them.
How many of us have ever been bullied by others, or even by ourselves, into feeling that we are not big enough, or pretty enough, or smart enough? Even those we most depend on for support might feed into these feelings, because they do not see us the way God does. Saul certainly does this for David, jeering when he learns of David’s intention to kill Goliath.
But David was not intimidated by Goliath’s size or strength or anything else about him. He did not focus on what a great foe Goliath was. He did not focus on the battle- he didn’t want armor- he didn’t prepare a strategic plan. He focused on God.
“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….: Sam. 17:45
David was CONFIDENT not because of his ability, but because of his faith in GOD ‘s ability. He knew that God had rescued him from lions and bears while he watched over his father’s sheep and goats, and he was confident that God would also rescue him from Goliath.
He was Strong because His God was strong. We should all have confidence that we can be victorious over any challenge because our God is victorious!
The same power that David had, we HAVE. Although we may face obstacles, although we may be terrified of them, if we focus on GOD not GIANTS, we will prevail.
What ever is in front of us- it is not Bigger or Stronger- or more anything than the GOD WHO is WITH US.