And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
1 Samuel 17:26-271 Samuel 17:26-27
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
26 David asked some soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and stopping him from insulting our people? Who does that worthless Philistine think he is? He's making fun of the army of the living God!” 27 The soldiers told David what the king would give the man who killed Goliath.
WP-Bible plugin, KJV
There he stood alone, in the shadow of a mighty giant. He was young and armed only with a sling shot and five stones to sling. He knew his enemy was feared by all, and he might also have been afraid as he stood face to face with the mammoth being. But David was not feeling fearful of Goliath.
David focused not on his enemy. He focused not on the fact that he wore no protection or that his weapon was small and perhaps inefficient against the mighty sword, heavy spear and the armor of the giant. He focused not on the fact that he stood against odds that were greatly against him. He focused not on fear. Why not, when the battalions of soldiers shook at the presence of the nine feet, nine inches tall Philistine? How could he stand, without perspiration of stress and palpitations of fear in his heart?
David was not pleased to hear the mocking of his God and his people by this bully. He asked ” Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?” In essence he was asking, “Just who does this guy think he is?” David wasn’t going to tolerate this situation. He knew that God was on his side. David knew that his God was present in the situation at hand. He knew, therefore he trusted. He stood firmly and with conviction. He saw only his God. He looked the problem in the face and he ran toward it, while others had fled. Goliath laughed at the sight of this young man, taunting him further. David loaded his slingshot and slung one stone. It hit its target, and Goliath fell dead to the ground.
I came to realize as I read and reread this account that Goliaths are in our lives all the time. Sometimes they are quiet, and the SON shines in such a way that we don’t see the shadows. We go on without much notice of them. Other times they are huge and noisy, and the shadows overtake us and they lay across our lives, darkening our days. It’s then that we must get ourselves out of the shadows, by making a leap of faith into the Sonlight. We need to look for God in those times. We need to do battle with Goliath, using the strength provided by God. One of those strengths, no matter how weak it ‘feels’, is trust. Another is surrender to the knowledge that God never fails us, and no matter where we are, no matter what our circumstance, God knows best where to take us and how to take us through to work things out for our best and for His glory.
A line from a recently-watched movie was ” You must look beyond the obvious to see the truth.” Let us look beyond the problems, the hurdles, the fears. Let us look to God. Let us go forth into today, with our focus on our God, clad in the full armor of God (Ephesians 6). We will be ready to look the enemy in the eye and to slay those Goliaths in our lives.
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