Goliath (1 Samuel 17:4-7)
"And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron."
Would you want to face this champion? Personally, I wouldn't, and neither did any of the Israelite men. I mean, Goliath was huge. To put this in our terms: six cubits is 9 feet tall, having a coat of chain-mail that at the weight of five thousand shekels of bronze is estimated to be about 160 pounds. If you know the rest of the story, there was a young man name David that defeats Goliath with just a sling and a stone. But really, was it just a sling and a stone? No! God was right there with David.
"Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and 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. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand..."(1 Samuel 17:45-46).
David threw a stone at Goliath's head, and the giant came tumbling down (to get out of the rain.. boom boom boom...). A champion that every man in the Israelite army was afraid of has been defeated by a young boy that was "just a servant."
What is the champion in your life? In other words, what is that thing that you are so afraid to face. Is it the unknown? How about that new job? It could be you not applying to something or stepping out in faith because you are afraid of rejection or someone not understanding where you are coming from. It could also be your family. A comment that someone you loved and trusted said to you that caused some deep hurt, and thus distrust. The enemy tends to use anything in our life and turn it to be our “Goliath.” He uses these goliath’s in our life to create a sense of fear. This is something that I have been learning a lot lately!
Support raising is terrifying. The thought of going to meet people and ask for money just doesn’t seem like the thing to do. Why can’t I find a “normal” job? What is the point of raising my financial support. Nobody will want to come onto my ministry team so that I can go to Ireland. These are just a few honest thoughts that I had going into this process. I was afraid, the entire process of support raising terrified me. Now that I am a month into support raising, I will be honest with you some of these thoughts come creeping back. But overall, I love the process. From not knowing if someone will want to come onto my team to being afraid to not invite them onto my team, thus denying them the chance to be blessed.
“Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be. You must move against it with the weapons of faith and love.” -Rick Warren
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18
So, what would be my Goliath, my champion? What is my fear today? Honestly, it changes every day. That rock you see in my hand in the picture is in Elah Valley, where this “battle” between David and Goliath took place in Israel. I have that rock and on it I wrote “What is Your Goliath?” I see it almost every day. It reminds me to 1) acknowledge my fears, 2) trust the Lord, and 3) remember the God has already conquered that giant in my life.
I know that God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of love power and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). Don’t get me wrong, there are times that I become anxious and fearful, but I am starting to trust the Lord even more. I am choosing to fight these fears with love. Will you choose to fight your champions? I promise you, growth with happen. And, my friends, it is beautiful, oh so beautiful, when we let the Lord work through us and grow us.
Blessings, friends!