The Anxiety Series: Giant Slayer

The battle lines were drawn. Two countries standing on two separate hills with only a ravine in between them. The Phillistines and the Israelites were ready for battle. Out of the fog appeared a huge giant of a man. He stood at 9 feet tall, wearing armor weighing over 125 pounds. This Philistine, named Goliath, laughed as he looked at Israel's army and asked "did you come all the way here to just stand in formation?". "Send someone to fight me". Goliath advised them that if he was beat, all of the Philistines would be their servants, but if he won, Israel would be their servants.

I Sam 17:11 "When Saul (the king) and all Israel heard these words from the Philistines, they lost their courage and were terrified."

[When we are gearing up for a battle, our courage seems daunting. We give ourselves pep talks, pray, and seem to have the strength of a warrior... but when the true test comes... and we watch our "giant" walk toward us for battle... our anxiety... and fear.. and doubt consumes us...

Some of the "giants" in our life include our mind, jealousy, envy, lust, alcoholism, pills, pride, anger, unkindness, anxiety, impatience... and so on..

We face our foe, day in and day out... and we run... and we hide... we forfeit or take a loss...]

For 40 days, Goliath walked to the ravine and begged Israel to send him a fighter. This request was denied each day and the Isrealite army, to include the king, remained terrifed.

But then one day, a young sheep herder, David, heard Goliath's request and watched Israel retreat from battle after being asked to fight. David was shocked. Why is this giant allowed to defy Isreal? Instead of looking at Goliath as a giant, David saw Goliath as a "disgrace". It was his mindset that was different than the rest of the soldiers.

David's brother, who was one of the soldiers afraid to fight, admonished David and told David he was arrogant and ego-tistical and to go home. Despite the criticism, David volunteered to fight and even told the king to not get discouraged by this giant. The king, whose faith was small, told David that he was only a youth and could not beat Goliath who had been training in battle since he was young".

David ignores the king and walks down the hill to meet his giant. David understood that his God was greater than even an earthly king... David was small and handsome and wore no armor as it would not fit him. Goliath was angry at his choice of rival and threatened to kill him. David spoke "You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel's armies.

He continued, Today "this assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's." "He will hand you over to us." (I Sam 17:47)

David was not all talk. He RAN towards the battle line and took a small stone and shot it at Goliath. Head shot! Goliath went down. This rallied the Israeli troops and their enemies were captured.

David was later brought before the king and in his hands carried the head of Goliath. When he was asked who he was, he described himself as a servant who was honored to fight for a king. It took a young boy, to rally a nation... to give courage.. to even a king... to claim victory... for a nation... This giant slayer... whose mind did not wander to the possiblities of injury or death.. but to victory and life......

May we all, like David, run to the battle lines, never retreat, and remember whose battle we are really fighting... each and every day...