So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
Memory Verse: but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. Daniel 11:32b
If you have ever faced a threatening situation in life you will have an idea of how unpleasant it is. Some people have greater thresholds when it comes to fear but some really can’t handle anything fearful or with signs of danger. Usually even for those with a high threshold, when they are faced with really major occurrences or situations, fear kicks in immediately and the rest is history. This was the case with Saul and the men of Israel, they were a developed country with a high level military base which engaged in combat from time to time but this was just not the match of any of their battles, this was greater than them. The Philistine of Gath, Goliath was a threat not only to the Israelites but also to their king. In a situation where a king responds to threat with fear, the battle is as good as lost because the people under his authority and leadership will most likely respond accordingly. As the Israelites heard Goliaths threat and saw him, people fled from him and were dreadfully afraid 1 Samuel17:24. The armies of Israel had become incompetent because of their inability to face Golaith.Their duty was to battle to protect Israel but they were simply failing at it. As an old adage says, when a child gets to the place of fear, the child will become fearful. The Israelites saw Goliath as an undefeatable enemy.
David however had a different way of responding to threat. First he was never afraid of Goliath and as soon as he heard of the threat, he enquired further about the prize to be won 1Samuel 17:26-27. David was immediately faced with an obstacle, his own oldest brother tried to create fear in him and demoralize him but David did not get threatened by his brother’s word. He enquired further until he had all the necessary information he needed for the battle 1Samuel 17:30. Of course he faced another obstacle in King Saul who was already in awe of the giant, the king tried once again to create fear in him but David’s response was confidence and boldness, 1Samuel 17:33, he was determined with moving forward.
The devil is smart and operates on people’s weaknesses. He keeps trying people out until he’s able to figure it out the weak point, then he capitalizes on it until fear is established then strikes repeatedly till he destroys people. David understood this and there was no point at which he was ready to succumb to threat of age, size or battle experience. He was not moved by what people said. His conversation was with God, he only took instructions from God and since He was on the Lord’s side, Goliath was no match for him.
What is your Goliath?
Have you met with him already and are too frightened and fearful to make any progress because you simply may die in the battle? or have you not even met with your Goliath? In any of the cases, it is important to note that David did encounter obstacles on his way to victory against Goliath. His brother and Saul tried to create fear and Goliath threatened him on the battle field but David knew the God He served and stood firm. Assuming David had responded to threat, he would have not fulfilled his destiny and be counted as part of the statistics. That fight announced David to the world and his life moved on from there.
Do you know the God you serve? what can you say about your Father’s ability to always win? If you are truly His child, then you will be strong because you operate in the strength of God and will do exploits. I encourage you to ignore the threat form that Goliath and focus on what God is saying. Yes, the threat from your Goliath is like a loud noise but the word of God is more effective, it is a voice and not a noise.
Stand on the word of God, build your strength from your relationship with God and no Goliath will be ever be a stumbling block to your exploits.
PRAYERS:
- Father I thank you for you are my shield, strength and protector
- Thank you for all the battles won for me.
- I receive power to operate in boldness from today, to face every storm and battles which seems unwinnable
- I receive victory through Christ today and I will always stand firm in your word
- I renounce and denounce the spirit of fear and I take onboard power, love and sound mind
- Thank You Jesus for it is well with me
- Forgive my sins o Lord and receive my sacrifice of praise, AMEN.
