WATCHWORD:
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 1 Samuel 17:8-9
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 1 Samuel 17:45-50
Meditation:
Giant Slayer
What are your giants? What causes you fear? Concern? Maybe it is something invisible, yet deadly? Like Covid? Maybe you recall with dread times in quarantine, like being in jail, restricted to a room. It is like being captive to a giant, one that has restricted your freedoms, isolated you from families, our loved ones.
Maybe your giant is something else. An estrangement from a loved one over something, now hard to recall. Perhaps you are lost in grief. Maybe hurt feelings, unintended at the time, yet replayed over and over again, and as the encores repeat, the hurt deepens. Maybe your giant was inherited, passed from one generation to the next, a grudge, as in Biblical times when the conflict between the Samaritans and Jews persisted for no apparent reason.
In Carol Kent’s book, He Holds My Hand, one of her readings included this statement: Sometimes (giants) come in the form of the mental attacks. You second-guess your decisions. You feel anxious and fearful. Your exhaustion leads to insecurity and hesitancy. You feel like there’s no way to succeed in life. At other times the giants come in the form of physical attacks—illness, headaches, surgeries, autoimmune diseases, debilitating arthritis… The fiercest giants come in the form of spiritual attacks causing you to question your faith in the wake of hardships and loss.”
It makes one wonder if part of the giant is our own pride, our own unwillingness to except responsibility, and to surrender it all to the Lord, to trust Him? Or are we like Peter, John, James, Barnabus, Andrew and the others, fearful for the sea and forgetting, or simply not understanding what their Lord, walking toward them, did in feeding the 4,000 with a small boy’s lunch, that very day.
Hebrews (7:24-26) tells us — But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.
In fairness to the disciples, trusting Him to that degree was a lesson they were in the process of learning, and they did learn it. All but John would be executed based on the strength of that trust in Christ.
What about us? The giant stands before us, threatening our very lives. And we have a choice. We can mutter, blame, get angry and complain. We can cast ourselves as victims, poor us. What did we do to deserve this?
Or we can ask Him to grant us clarity in our thinking. Then face our giant with controlled strength, calling on Him for the words or the necessary courage. He walks on water, he feeds thousands from nothing, and we can depend on Him. Matthew summed it up, right there in that boat, telling us: “Humanly speaking, it is impossible, but with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26) Amen.
Prayer in the Face of Giants:
Father, thank you because you are the only reason I have been able to keep going on, to keep standing, to keep believing, and to keep praying in the midst of this storm that surrounds me. You are my rock and you have brought me out of every storm that has come my way. Jesus Christ, you are my living Hope!
“Even thou I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Your rod and Your staff they comfort me” I believe in Your promises and they keep me bold and strong. Lord, please help me in my times of despair and depression to trust in You. Hide me in the shelter of Your love and lead me to the place of help that I need. Even though my whole world screams I am timid and weak, I will take courage and refuge in You for You are my God and in You I trust. I will not be afraid, my trust is in You. I love You for caring and protecting me. Thank You so much. I am blessed beyond measure. I pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.
