We are facing overwhelming circumstances in our world right now. Every day we wake up, it is like we are climbing a new Mt. Everest. We are seeing a rise in COVID-19, political unrest, economic turmoil, moral compromise, injustice, racism, rioting, and many other kinds of civil unrest. It is also a Presidential election year, and opinions are flying high. What are we to do? How do we handle such adversity? How do we conquer what appears to be an impossible giant?
The answer is this. We look to the timeless and perfect Word of God. In the Old Testament, there is a famous story about David and Goliath where a simple shepherd boy slays an incredible giant. The point of the story is not that, given the right confidence, you can achieve whatever you set your mind to. Nor is the main point about defeating your enemies and overcomingthe giants in your life. The entire point of this famous story is about defending and honoring God’s name and glory. This was a spiritual battle more than it was a physical battle. In fact, the real menacing giant in this story is the unbelief that dominates the heart of Israel, which causes them not to trust in their God. God, through David, shows us how to overcome impossible giants. Here are three applications.
First, honoring God is first and foremost is about the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart. From a human standpoint, you do not pick a guy like David to fight a giant. From God’s standpoint, this is exactly who you pick, because David trusted deeply in his God. David is not the hero of this story, God is! God is always the hero and God chose to make His name great through His choice servant. When David shows up in the story, he reminds Israel, not of the size of the giant, but of the size of their God. Understanding this makes all the difference in the world and in our lives. The starting point in every aspect of our life is not our ability, our faith, our obstacles, or our giants! God, who He is and what He can do, is always the starting point and everything flows from that reality.
Second, honoring God in the big ways starts by being faithful in the small. David was always in the right place at the right time. Remember this, being used of God in big ways is simply the result of being faithful to God in countless little ways. You might not think that the little acts of faith you do on a daily basis are significant, but they are! David’s genuine and routine faith prepared him for a moment and a giant bigger than he could have ever imagined. Never underestimate the power of small acts of faith. They are merely the preparation for greater acts of faith!
Third, honoring God will rarely be easy. David faced an enemy from Philistia, but he also faced some enemies among his own people and family. His brothers were hard on him, his fellow countrymen mocked him, and many others doubted him. When David should have been getting support and encouragement from those closest to him, he received contempt and negativity. David was trying to walk by faith and let the living God make Himself known, and apparently everyone else had forgotten that. We know that David took five smooth stones from the river and approached the giant. A simple shepherd boy slung a stone, struck the giant, and he fell dead. The point is, God can do more with a stone than any man can do with a sword!
Finally, honoring God is all about looking to Jesus! All of mankind stands in a similar situation to Israel, in need of a representative to save us from the menacing and crippling giant of sin. The biggest giant in all of our lives is alienation from God. Just like Israel, we find ourselves feeling hopeless and defeated, hiding in our own tents, and trusting in our own resources. All of which have no power over the giant of sin. What we need is a greater David to come to our rescue and defeat the giant of sin and death on our behalf. Guess what? We have such a representative. His name is Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “He who knew no sin, became sin on our behalf, so that in Jesus, we might become the righteousness of God.” We have a risen and conquering King, who has made a way for us to be forgiven of our sin and made right with God. All we have to do is look to Him.
This week, remember this. Because Jesus took out the real giant in our lives, we can bravely face all other lesser giants such as fear, stress, doubt, worry, etc. Truly, in Christ, we are more than overcomers and in Him we have victory in this life and in the life to come!
pastorjfreeman 