Fight The Giant

Picture by Caprice Miller

“The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”  Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.””  -   I Samuel 17:37

Imagine coming face-to-face with this angry guy in the wilderness.  There are some things just better left alone.  This is probably one of them.  This is not the time to try to do an unnatural intervention and try to reason with this creature.  “So, tell me….Paul is it?  Tell me Paul Polar, what is the real source of your anger?  I want to help you.”  Yeah, that doesn’t make a lot of sense, just leave him to his territory and get the heck out of Alaska!  But as soon as we do that, we may realize that this is not just and angry polar bear, it’s a HUNGRY polar bear too.  And now it’s an angry, hungry polar bear chasing you!  Who knew something so big could run so fast?  The next thing you know, you are literally running for your life and all you had been doing in the first place was taking in the beauty of the world around you at the time.  You never meant to disturb Paul the Polar Bear.    But sometimes these things happen.  We are just going about our business and suddenly we are confronted with the angry, hungry issues of life that seem determined to take us down. 

Back in the day of David, that is sort of what was happening to the Israelite army.  They were going about their business of fighting the Philistine army and then suddenly there was this nine foot bear…..I mean man named Goliath that was fighting for the Philistines and he was very angry and hungry for Israelite flesh.   The Bible tells us that for 40 days this giant would have a shift in the morning and in the evening when he would do nothing but taunt and insult the Israelites trying to get someone to come and fight him.  But no one had the courage to do so.  And that’s when our man, David, comes into the picture.  He was dropping in to bring his brothers some food from dad, Jesse, so he could check things out and bring word back to dad about how it was all going.  However, his brothers who were fighting in the Israelite army thought of him as a mere nuisance of a boy – the kid brother they didn’t want around to cramp their style.  That’s when he couldn’t help but notice this bad tempered, bad mannered giant who was continuing to hurl insults at them.  We can imagine what David must have been thinking.  This Israelite army was supposed to be tough.  Why are they just letting this guy go on like this with his insults?  As he went about asking questions of the guys, he found out there was even a reward for the one who would step up and take care of the giant.  As David assessed the situation, he went to King Saul and volunteered.  When the king questioned how this “boy” could think he could go up against this giant and win, David assured him that he was more than capable. You see, David may have been young in age, but he was a warrior at heart.   As he tended his father’s sheep, he would have to fight lions and bears to protect them.  In his mind, this wasn’t that different. He wasn’t going to let a lion or bear attack his sheep and he surely wasn’t about to let this giant continue to insult his people.  As we read on in I Samuel 17, David picks out five stones and heads toward the giant.  Goliath seems insulted that, again….a “mere boy”, would be sent to fight him.  But David responds to his insults and threats 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.” (I Samuel 17:45)  And then David puts a stone in the sling and lets it fly right into the forehead of Goliath.  And the problem of the angry giant is gone. 

It can be really debilitating when we encounter the “Goliaths of life”.  They usually come in the form of health, financial or relational issues.  And they always seem so frightening and insurmountable. It is just easier to try to ignore them hoping they will go away rather than facing them head on and reclaiming your territory in life.  Sometimes we need help in seeing this though.  That’s what David did.  He came into a situation that the Israelite army had already been experiencing for 40 days.  They were at a loss of what to do.  The mental warfare had taken its toll and they were buying into the thought that this giant could not be defeated.  But someone else had a fresh perspective.   There are times when we need that too.  We need another to come in and remind us that these circumstances come into our lives with “sword and spear and javelin” but we can come at them in the name of the LORD ALMIGHTY!  Just being aware of this brings courage to the surface like never before.  Truly understanding that the “stones” we have to fight with are actually God’s power in our lives should give us the courage and hope to not only face the Goliaths of our lives, but take them on knowing they will be defeated in the name of the LORD ALMIGHTY!  Have courage today in the face of the giants of your life.  Know that as a Christ follower, His power is within you.  Take the giants on in the name of the LORD ALMIGHTY!