Good evening sisters in Christ. I hope today finds you so full of joy that the enemy flees before you can even break out James 4:7 (Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you) on him. But if you are facing an trial or “giant” today, God’s message will hopefully give you some encouragement. I know it did me. As we always suggest, take time to seek God’s presence in prayer before continuing. It’s important to ask Him to help you understand and apply His word. Today we’re going to look at various verses in 1 Samuel 17. We’ll be looking at 1 Samuel 17:4-8, 32-41, 45-50 (NIV) which say: 4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. 8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 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, 35 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. 36 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. 37 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.” 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 45 David said to the Philistine, “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. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that 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.” 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 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 face down on the ground. 50 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. We all have times when we feel like David and we’re facing that giant Goliath but some of those times we don’t have the confidence we should have as a child of God to face that giant. This Philistine was huge! For a better understanding, here are a few translations: his height was 9 feet, 9 inches! The scale of armor that he wore weighed 125 lbs. The point alone of his spear weighed 15 lbs. We’re told that David was a young man and that Goliath had been a warrior from his youth. We’re also told that when Goliath originally made his challenge Saul and all the Israelites were terrified (for more info on this, read all of 1 Samuel 17). Have you ever faced a trial in which you’ve been terrified? Come on, be honest. No matter how “strong” we are, we’ve all had weak moments. Someone we know has passed away, we lose our only source of income or our home, a loved one is diagnosed with a terminal illness, or we are, we’re facing some “Goliath” and there’s nobody there to help or support us and we feel all alone, there are too many situations to suggest. But we’ve all been there, I refuse to believe we haven’t. But just like David in this situation which he faced his Goliath, the first thing he does is recall the other “giants” the Lord has delivered him through (the lion, the bear). Then he rebuked Goliath in the name of the Lord (verse 45). Next he stated that once he had victory the Lord would be glorified (verse 46-47). Finally when the moment came for fight or flight, David acted on his God-given strength and claimed victory over Goliath. My question to you is this: What’s your “Goliath”? What giant (trial) are you facing right now that’s trying to take your joy and claim victory over you? The enemy will try to put things in your mind to tell you that you can’t make it. Even David heard it through Saul (verse 33). But he stood boldly in his faith in the Lord and walked right up to his giant and claimed his victory! Will it always be that easy? No. And though it doesn’t say it in God’s word, I’d venture to say that David felt a little afraid walking up to that giant. I didn’t say worried or faithless or uncertain, I said a little afraid. There’s an inspiring Christian speaker and author who says if you’re afraid, “do it afraid!” The point is, regardless of the final outcome, if the other side of that mountain looks like we think it should look, the point is that we make it to the other side. And that strength comes only from fully relying on God. The next time a Goliath comes at you challenging you, do just as David did. Recall all the times the Lord has delivered you before, rebuke the enemy and any fear he’s inducing in your heart, in the name of the Lord, faithfully promise to give God the glory for delivering you regardless of whether you “like” the outcome, pray seeking HIS will, and do your part. That requires listening to His voice and leading or sometimes it requires just waiting. But trust and have faith, like David did, that the battle is the Lord’s (verse 47). Prayer: Father God, I’ve faced so many Goliaths in my life and I can honestly say I never want to face another! But I know they will come; some at the hands of the enemy and some at the hands of others. Some to help me grow and some as consequences of my own actions. Help me to always have the faith and attitude of Your servant David. Be with each lady reading this devotion and give them this same strength Lord. Touch each heart personally and give them a special touch to let them know You are right there with them as they’re reading this if they diligently seek You. I love You and praise You Father! I lift this prayer in the precious name of Jesus, Amen.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:47:21 +0000