Because I was privileged to grow up in a Christian home, I do not recall when I first heard the story of David and Goliath. It seems as if I have always known it; the same is true of the song we used to sing in Sunday school called, “Only a Boy Named David.” (If you know this song, it is probably playing in your head right now.) My thoughts instantly go to how small David was compared to Goliath, yet he still defeated the giant that day. However, this was not David’s first “giant.” The Bible tells us about David defeating a lion and a bear before he ever faced this giant named Goliath.
In life, we each will face our own giants. These giants can help us to grow, even though the fight may be difficult. We may not understand how we possibly can win against certain giants in our lives. Some giants are often unfamiliar and difficult to handle; it is not like anything we have ever faced in the past. Similarly, David had faced a lion and a bear up to this point, but not a human giant. He could not have known that, at the time of these early battles, he was being prepared to face Goliath.
What giant are you facing?
Giants can seem impossible to us while others may not consider them as such. I can remember being a teenager and sweating bullets because of an upcoming test. I would ask as many people as I knew to pray for me because, at the time, that test seemed terrifying. Others may have thought, “That’s a piece of cake,” but to me at that time, it seemed impossible. Then, as I became an adult, my giants got bigger. I knew how to face those giants in the past because I had learned how to face them and had survived.
Some giants are big, scary trials that we must endure. Others can be the giants of stepping out in faith and trusting God. Giants can be volunteering to participate in a new area of ministry where we may feel unqualified or lack confidence in our ability to be a help and a blessing.
Giants often come when we least expect them to appear. Early last year, I surrendered to God’s will. Because I knew I was exactly where He wanted me to be in my Christian life, I felt as though I was on that mountaintop. I did not know anything about a new area of ministry He had for me, but I knew that God would help me and show me what to do. Only two months later, I suddenly and unexpectedly lost my father. I had conquered my giant of stepping out on faith and just got back to the mountaintop, and then I came crashing down to the valley with the death of my father. I was overwhelmed and devastated by this giant that had showed up out of nowhere. The old familiar feelings of grief that I had experienced when my mom went to Heaven just five years earlier showed up at my door step once again.
How do you face the giant?
First, we must have surrendered hearts. When David defeated the lion and the bear, he knew it was God Who had given him the victory. He knew it was not in his own strength. He gave God the glory for defeating those giants. If we try to defeat the giants in our own strength, we will surely fail. Many of us have said just before facing our giants, “I’ve got this.” In the many times I have said this, things never turn out how I thought they would because I failed to lean on the only One Who can give the victory. We must be surrendered to God. We must give up our thoughts of how we think things should go by giving our minds, hearts, and wills to Him.
Second, we must remember that our giants may change, but God does not. He is the same God that helped us face our previous giants. He will always be there, giving us strength to face our giants. We never have to face the giants alone. If we do feel alone, we can go to the same God that David spoke of in I Samuel 17:45 when he said, …I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts,…
Last, we must be willing to face our giants. David was willing to fight Goliath because he knew on Whom his faith rested. He was able to boldly stand and face Goliath, not in his own strength but in God’s. Will we run from our giants? We may think, “I will just deal with it later.” However, we can rest assured that God has not changed, and He will allow us to have the victory over our giants, as long as we have the faith to trust Him to carry us through the battle. What seemed impossible to everyone that day became reality when God used David to defeat Goliath.
May we all boldly stand before our giants with surrendered and willing hearts, knowing we are not alone, but with God. May we declare that it was that God Who carried us to victory. God has always helped me face my giants. I have learned that it is not my strength but in God’s. Today, we can stand confidently before our giants, resting on the assurance of the past battles we have won through God and knowing that these giants will be conquered through that same faith in our Deliever!
by Mandy Harper
I loved Mandy’s devotional on David and Goliath. It was a true blessing to me to be reminded that we need to pray more and trust in the Lord for all our battles big and small.