making the giants fall

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the story of David and Goliath. One particular verse keeps coming to my mind.

“As the Philistine (Goliath) moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.”

1 Samuel 17:48

This verse just amazes me so much that I have to stop and pray each time I read it. David didn’t look at Goliath and see a huge Philistine army in front of him. He saw the armies of God that were giving him the strength to defeat this giant that had for so long been an enemy to many people. The story is more than “David versus Goliath.” It is “God-focused versus giant-focused.” While everyone else was alert to Goliath, David’s full attention was on God. He definitely saw the giant (he was probably not hard to miss), but he saw God more so.

We can learn so much from this story. Yes, we have giants to face. And yes, we can defeat them through the power God grants us. But there is so much more to learn from this story. It’s a matter of heart. The giants we face aren’t 9 feet 9 inches tall, but they are just as powerful. Our Goliath doesn’t carry a sword or shield, but he brandishes blades of a different kind. He attacks with abandonment, abuse, depression, unemployment, failure, and death. He brings bills we can’t pay, grades we can’t make, people we can’t please, careers we can’t escape, pasts we can’t forget, and futures we think we can’t face. WE KNOW GOLIATH PERSONALLY. He is the first thing on our mind when we wake up and the last worry of our night. He dominates our day and siphons our joy.

And what do we tend to do as a result? We retreat, hide behind busyness, avoid interaction with people, and run away from the giant. But what did David do? He rushed toward the giant with a God-saturated focus. He thought about the strength of God much more than he did the pseudo-strength of Goliath or his own weakness.

I want to be like David when it comes to facing my giants. We all face them. Yet we need not face them alone. Focus first, and most, on God. The times David did, giants fell. The days he didn’t, David did.

Focus on giants – you stumble.

Focus on God – your giants tumble.