Standing Up to Our Giants
Are you facing a crisis? Do you have a menacing giant of a problem at home, at work or in your family? The only way to face a giant is to do as David did: remember the lion and the bear. By remembering God’s faithfulness to him in his past crises, David could go up against Goliath without fear.
When David volunteered to fight Goliath, “Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him.’ …But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. …Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.’” (1 Samuel 17:33-36, NKJV).
David knew the danger he was facing against Goliath. He wasn’t some novice, a naïve kid full of bravado and looking for a fight. No, David was simply remembering his past deliverances. He boldly stated, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37).
Multitudes of God’s people today face giants on all sides, and many cower in fear. Does this describe you? Have you forgotten the time you were so sick that you were close to death, but the Lord raised you up? Do you remember that financial disaster when you thought, “That’s it; I’m finished,” yet the Lord saw you through it and has kept you to this day?
There are many things we don’t understand, and we won’t understand every situation until we are home with Jesus. I absolutely believe that God can heal, and that he has a way out of every situation. The question for us is, “Where do we find the faith, the courage, to stand up and gain victory in him?” It comes only by remembering the lion and the bear. It comes when you’re able to recall the incredible faithfulness of God, and the past victories he has given you. You can’t face a giant until you’re able to understand the majesty and glory of God in your life.
