One of the things that I have discovered growing up is that life is full of mountains. Another way of saying this is that life is full of giants. There are financial giants, emotional giants, and even spiritual giants. When people face giants, they have two different responses: either fight or flight. It’s the nature of the beast. Either we stand up to the giant and do our best to knock it down or we let the giant take over our wellbeing. There was one young man in the Bible who was faced with a literal giant. That young man was named David.
In 1 Samuel 17, it speaks about how there was a giant named Goliath who was aligned with the nation known as Philistine. This man was four cubits and a span tall (roughly 6 feet 9 inches). However, there are other translations which say that he was six cubits and a span (roughly 9 feet 9 inches). Basically, he was one tall dude. For 40 days, he kept coming to the nation of Israel looking for a fight. During that time, no one stepped up. It wasn’t until David showed up and he said that he would fight this giant. He stepped up and took that giant down. It reminds me of how we ought to conquer our giants. While it is important to knock our giants down, it is critical that we have the faith in God by our side. Romans 8:31 says that If God is for us, then who can be against us?
1 Samuel 17:19-32 NLT Translation
19. David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.
20 So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. 21 Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.
24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25 “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”
26 David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
27 And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”
28 But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”
29 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” 30 He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31 Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.
David Kills Goliath
32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You for always being by our side throughout our lives. Continue to remind us that You are always there for us. While there are moments when the enemy tries his best to pull us away from You, we know that You are stronger than the enemy is. Help us to be rooted and stand on Your solid foundation. When the world is trying to destroy us with all these winds and waves, we need to be placed on Your solid foundation. Without Your foundation, we would all crumble. Help us to not crumble. Help us to stand solid.
In Jesus name
Amen