This week the Holy Spirit kept bringing the story of David and Goliath to my mind and urging me to go a little deeper into the story. With the help of Sara I was able to finish this piece.
When I focused upon the story I thought isn’t this story like life. We come up against situations that everyone tells us are impossible and that we don’t have a chance against them. We hear the words to the effect, the problem is too colossal. The situation is too nerve racking, shaking us to our bone marrow as we look upon the giant. Is it fear, a relationship, an illness etc.? Outsiders see the giant that is our enemy and just like the Israelites they are overcome by the pure size of the giant.
God sent a child, David, to fight the giant. Why a child? A child whose faith was pure. A child who looked to the hand of God for protection for the sheep he cared for and ways to protect them from enemies that lurked to chew them up and destroy them. God prepared David. David and God went round and round the fields and hills together caring and protecting the sheep. God was there along side him all the time. God chose this child, a child who knew Him, a child He had trained. Not an adult who had grown luke warm or distant to Him. Not one we would expect to come up against the giant who had confidence in their own abilities. This child, David, was CONFIDENT in GOD’S ABILITIES. He was confident that God had equipped him to slay the giant. David had a relationship of trust that had been built up over time. A trust that enwrapped the heart and strengthened the resolve of David so he could stand and withstand, and he DID. He faced the giant -the giant of destruction WHILE others shook in their boots. David said, Enough – time to get rid of this destroyer. Others did not have David’s training of prayer and trust in the Father. Others could have but they didn’t choose for the Father to train them. Because of David resolve to be trained by the Father, the Father stood and acted on his behalf – He loved David, thus God stood with David. In faith, David picked up what he had in his hand, a relationship of conversation (intercessory prayer), a pebble (which might seem small to some but not to the Father) that pierced the giant that would have taken his life. Pierced the giant that caused people to tremble. As the giant lay on the ground, the giant that seemed so colossal seemed small against the Mightiness of God. The child and God looked on. The child thanking God for again showing how small the giants in our lives are when we use what is in our hand (intercessory prayer). Praise God for slaying the giants in our lives when we pray.
thedailylily.com 
Proverbs warns against the SELF-confident ‘fool’ who puts his trust in himself, his own works or in man and not in the all powerful GOD. Working with children teaches many lessons about their ultimate faith and trust in a parent, teacher or mentor. That’s how we must be with the Lord God. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings God has perfected praise or another way…out of the innocent and trusting person who is like an innocent little child putting his/her trust completely in God thus bringing honor and glory and praise to God. For such is the Kingdom of Heaven.
David picked up what he had in his hand, ie what he knew. If we could remember to be like David and not wear the heavy armor. David was asked to put on King Saul’s suit of armor before he faced Goliath alone. But the armor was too heavy for David; instead, he relied on God to provide him with victory by using what he had in his hand.
Likewise we have been given instructions for battle and to use what we have in hand. The faithful are to gird themselves for battle against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12-14). Paul tells us what to wear: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
I would like to ask that the Lord direct our prayers this day for John G., Hazel, Anne, and others facing giants in their lives this day. Lord we would ask that you bring healing to each one and that you would slay the giant that they are facing today. In the name of Jesus we stand in the gap for each of the people knowing you can slay their giant this day. Thank you God!
I stand in agreement in prayer for Hazel, Jon, Ann and Phyllis , for we have been made more than conquerors Through Christ Jesus and we will believe the report of the Lord. God said to His servants, “this enemy now you will no longer see again.” I believe what Sara said about Saul’s armour. We don’t need to be heavily burdened down and over borne with impediments and religiosity. We just need to call out in prayer to the living GOD in faith, trust and obey and BELIEVE.
I agree with you in this prayer Rena.
And David, killing a giant with a stone or rock, seems significant to me for Jesus Christ is referred to as our Rock.
“…for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” I Cor 10:4
And David didn’t turn to the weapons that others might have used…he turned to the Rock and the Rock stood with Him.
Psalm 18:1-6
” I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
4 The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.”
“We come up against situations that everyone tells us are impossible and that we don’t have a chance against them.” And I’d like to add that the devil tells us WE CAN”T DO IT, either. I am in a local Bible study and am watching different DVD’s, with Joyce Meyer. Today, we started the DVD’s on “The Battlefield of the Mind.” Joyce was teaching us about our “thought life.” If we “think” wrong thoughts, then we have created an open door, for satan to place a stronghold, against us. Now, if David had entertained the thought of “fear”, which is what satan would probably want him to do, God would not get the glory. As it was, David had FAITH, in God! As Joyce said, “we need to shout out the scriptures”, and “call the devil a LIAR.” We know that God’s Word tells us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline”. (2Tim 1:7) As Joyce has said, “God has equipped us with the Holy Spirit, and we CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). Thank you, Rena for reminding us of the story of David and Goliath.
Prayer of agreement is very powerful. Deuteronomy 32:30 says, one can put one thousand to flight and two can run off ten thousand. Satan works through division and God works through unity! God multiplies and Satan divides. It’s all in the math!
Thinking about what Needles and Sara wrote, I thought these scriptures were encouraging from Psalm 68:
“Let God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered..(vs 1)”
“The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
Even thousands of thousands” (vs 17)
“Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation!” (vs 19)
God is mighty so there is no need to fear. He who is with us is greater than he who is against us. And He certainly mutiplies good towards us.
In speaking about satan’s trying to discourage and defeat, in the narration of David and the giant, even and especially David’s brothers mocked him….members of his own household tried to discourage him from doing what he knew in his heart had been prompted by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes that happens. Even people of one’s own household will be up against a Scriptural truth or Biblical call of God on one’s life.
But Peter teaches in his Epistles “gird up the loins of your mind” against those trials and testings…sufffer through it and take the confrontation patiently for “this is acceptable to God.” Peter admonishes us to keep a long-suffering attitude when others make an affront to our beliefs or the works and deeds that Christ has called us to.
If we let it “get to us” then we have been defeated and it’s true, something will be impossible to us. But Jesus said, “with GOD nothing will be impossible.”!!