“As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.” [1 Samuel 17:48-50]
David and Goliath might be a bible story you have heard countless times as a child growing up. But now that you are older have you read back through this story to read just how incredible it is? I encourage you to take some time to read through 1 Samuel 17!
What happened?
There was a Philistine giant, Goliath, who was over 9 feet tall and came out to the Israelites every day for forty days challenging them to fight. Seeing that this giant was so tall, none of the Israelites wanted to fight him because they were afraid. One day a teenaged shepherd, David, was going to meet his Father at the battle line to deliver news about his brothers. While there he heard Goliath yelling at all the Israelites and the terror over all the men. David volunteered to fight Goliath, dressed in a simple tunic, carrying his shepherd’s staff, sling, and a pouch full of stones, David approached Goliath. The giant cursed at him, hurling threats and insults.
David replied to Goliath by saying “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied … today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air … and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel … it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47)
As Goliath came after David, the shepherd boy slung one of his stones at Goliath’s forehead. Goliath fell face down to the ground and David grabbed Goliath’s sword and killed him.
What is your Goliath?
See the thing is we all have a ‘Goliath’ in our life. You know that thing that keeps you so afraid. That thing that is a big giant in your life that keeps coming back for you and trying to keep you from any form of happiness… What is your Goliath? What is stopping you from being ALL that you were created to be?
Be like David….
Every time I read this story I am so encouraged by David and his faith. A little background on David is that he was overlooked by his own Father! God used this young shepherd boy to show that ANYONE is capable of defeating the giants in our life. You just gotta believe that it is possible for you. Just imagine how intimidating it was for this teenage boy to step onto battle line not wearing any armor and not carrying a single sword. I’m sure he was made fun of by all the men. I’m sure nobody thought he could do it. But he didn’t seem to care. He knew who he had on his side.
Romans 8:31 reminds us that “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Let’s be like David. No more trying to figure out the situation, no more fear, no more losing hope and simply giving up, let’s fight with full confidence that we are MORE than able to overcome any giant standing in our life.
-Macie
Pray
Father thank you for never leaving my side. Help me to remember that you will always help me stand against any giant in my life and help me to let go of fear and hold on to you. I love you Lord. Amen.
