Killing the Giants

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 

Matthew 10:27

I was driving the car on the way to drop my boys off for school when I asked the question, "What is your favorite bible story?" My 10 year old son piped up very quickly mentioning David and Goliath. I asked him why and he answered "I like how God used such a small boy to kill such a big giant."

I noted how that is a really good story and definitely one of my favorites too and then posed another question: "Do you think David would have had the boldness and confidence he did when he faced Goliath if he hadn't first faced the bear and the lion?"

Caleb sat and thought about it for a moment and he said "Yea sure mom, I bet he would have." Such a sweet answer, but I hardly think that if God hadn't allowed David to first face the bear and the lion that his faith might have wavered in fear like those of his peers when faced up against this enormous Philistine.

We know from the Bible that David was in charge of taking care of the sheep in the fields and filled his time with writing music and singing songs of praise to God while playing on his harp. But life was not all a sing-along in the fields. There were battles to face and foes to conquer like those of the lion and bear that wanted to kill what David worked to protect. 

Not only did David kill these animals and win, he killed them with his bare hands as it says in 1 Samuel 17: 34-35, "When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, ³⁵ I went out after it and attacked it and rescued the lamb from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I seized it by its whiskers and struck and killed it."

Wow! If I had killed a lion and a bear with my bare hands I would be spreading the word, instagramming the moment and making sure someone caught it on youtube! But more importantly, I would be praising God for giving me the strength to do it. Without His help it would have been an impossible feat. 

We can look back in retrospect at our lives and see the hand of God at work in our lives through some of our darkest and scariest moments. These moments of amazing grace and incomprehensible mercy are not meant to be memories stored in a keepsake box. God wants us to proclaim His goodness in our lives and spread the word of what he has done for us and delivered us from. In the process it encourages other people and reminds us that we too are giant killers!

If you continue on in 1 Samuel 17: 36- 37, "³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”

If some of the things we went through in life were told to us before we walked through them, we might have turned and walked away from them. But when we are walking through them and come out victoriously on the other side, we garner trust, hope and confidence that God will be there for us again.

In the middle of our battle is where we grow and where our strength shines. There is no giant in your life that is too impossible to face with the help of Almighty God. Tell your problem how big your God is not the other way around! 

I am thankful for the metaphorical lions and bears God has allowed me to face in my past because I know that when the Giant comes I can stand and say like David did, 

 “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a ^[n]javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I will strike you down...so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that this entire assembly may know that the Lord does not save with the sword or with the spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will hand you over to us.” 

What strength! What confidence! Together let's kill the giants in our lives with the confidence in knowing that what God has done in the past has only prepared us for our future...not to succumb to it's difficulties or weight, but to triumph as the over-comers we were created to be!

The battle you are facing was never meant for you to go through alone, God is with you and He will deliver your enemy into your hand!  

For more insight into fighting your spiritual battle and learn how to be equip yourself with God's armor, join us for the Arm Yourself Online Bible Study kicking off January 24, 2016.  For more details click here