Excited about a giant

On Sunday, Shane Miura brought us a message of hope for those facing overwhelming obstacles.  He reminded us of the lesson David taught us when he fought Goliath.  David didn't look at the size of Goliath, he looked at the size of his God.  He remembered how God had been faithful to help him defend his sheep against predators, so he knew God would protect him from this super-sized predator of God's people.  Then in I Samuel 17:48, we see that David ran to fight Goliath.  He ran to meet the giant.

I don't know about you, but I rarely run to face the struggles in my life.  I don't get excited about having troubles.  My usual reaction is to complain or to ask God to take it away.  Rarely do I thank Him and focus on what God wants to do in the midst of this struggle.  I let frustration, fear and anxiety be my first step and early companion rather than faith, assurance and peace.  Does this sound familiar?

Just a few chapters before David's encounter with Goliath, we see Jonathan teach us a similar lesson.  Jon is the son of King Saul and seems to be a young man with faith, passion and energy.  In I Samuel 14, we see that the Israelites are oppressed by the Philistines.  Only Saul and Jon have weapons, so the outlook is rather bleak.  It looks as if Israel will continue to be held under the thumb of these foreigners.  However, Jon goes out to spy on the Philistines and in 14:6 he tells his armor-bear, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows.  Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf.  Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many of by few."  So Jon goes to check it out, gets in a fight and kill 20 of the enemy as they attack him.  This puts the Philistines in a panic, which leads to a rout by the rest of Saul's army.  One man with total trust in God sent a whole army into retreat and defeat.

God is waiting for us to approach our problems like David and Jonathan.  We need to have supreme confidence that God can bring about victory.  That victory does not depend on how large our army is, how talented we are, how smart we are, how much money we have or any other human factor.  It has to do with being obedient to God when facing a God-sized problem.  Just remember that Goliath and the Philistine army really are the underdogs because they are going up against God.  That problem is the underdog because it is facing off against God, not against us.

So what obstacle are you facing?  What is keeping you afraid and imprisoned?  What hinders you from the freedom, grace and joy that God has in store?  Follow the King of Glory into battle and we will always have a victory!