What Is Your Giant?

1 Samuel 17:32-37  - David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."  Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth." But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,  I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.  The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

 

It’s one of the most told bible stories …the giant Goliath taunts and defies the army of Saul.  Saul and his whole army run in fear and hide.  David turns down the armor and weapons of the king in favor of his sling shot and 5 stones. The one stone from his slingshot knocked the giant unconscious…and he fell to the ground.  Then David picked up Goliath’s own sword…killed him…and cut off his head.

 

David was just a mere boy… a youth by Saul’s standards…but he possessed a remarkable understanding of the God he served. This ‘youth’ that commentaries placed at anywhere from 13-20…was so upset that Goliath would dare defy the armies of the ‘living’  God…that he declares he has all the strength and training he needs to fight any foe…much less the mere giant from the Philistine’s army.

 

He must have remembered all the stories that told of God’s deliverance of the Israelites…he had experienced the might and courage he could give as he protected his father’s sheep…he possessed a confidence in God that allowed him to walk before this giant and kill him.  He possessed a courage that bid him take a mere slingshot into battle with a giant...because he knew his God went with him.

 

I couldn’t help but think of Saul’s son Jonathan…who also possessed a similar courage just a few fights ago. No wonder David and he became good friends…for they shared a common knowledge of how God could help them defeat any foe that threatened them…their family…or the people that God had chosen as his own.  David and Jonathan viewed their giants from God’s perspective…and they drew from the supernatural arsenal of God’s own heart…to put their problems in a light that gave them hope.

 

Father …thank you for reminding me this morning…that I always have you to draw strength and courage from.  Help me to have the wisdom and heart of David and Jonathan…when I see a giant coming at me with its defeating words.  Reveal to me the tools you have already trained me to use against them….and give me a confidence to know that you are walking right beside me in all that you allow me to go through. Allow me to see any giant in my life as just another small thing…and face it with the hope and power you gave us through your son’s death and resurrection on the cross.  Amen.