IF You Want To Kill A Giant….

Young David facing Goliath can teach us so much.  Like David, we have to determine if the Goliath that stands before us is the enemy to paralyze us or promote us? Will it defeat us or free us? Will we meet it head-on in the name of our God or join the ranks of the frozen chosen?  The army of Israel was frozen in their tracks before David arrived.  They were terrified at the size of an enemy that David found to be small compared to God! Young David met Goliath head-on and freed a nation’s army! While others were frozen in fear, David was freed by fear.  Not fear of an enemy but a reverent fear of the Almighty! A fear that he would not be obedient to the God he served and miss out on His wonderful blessings.  A fear that he would succumb to anything other than the covenant promises of the God he served and believed in! A fear that he would become like everyone else. A fear that he wouldn’t show the world that God was with them, and through Him, they could overcome anything.  A fear that he would not answer the lie with truth, a problem with resolve, despair with hope, defeat with victory, a giant with a stone!  David had no other choice but to recognize the opportunity God set before him to free his people.  His only option in his mind was to believe and obey.  His greatest fear was not pleasing God! 

David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.

1 Samuel 17:45-51 (NLT)

We all know life can be challenging at times.  Most of the time, our greatest giant to defeat is our own mind! People go through very real traumas, both young and old. I know the reality of the pain that can torment us and memories that can haunt us, but I also know the answer is in not giving up! We must face our giants head-on! We cannot allow whatever giant that is taunting us from our past to continue to do so!  We cannot let a present giant talk us out of moving forward in life! David brought down his taunting giant by planting a stone in his forehead!  The battle we mostly face is in our minds, and if we can overcome it and take control of our thoughts, we have already won half the battle! To do that, we have to understand first and foremost that Jesus is our stone of victory, and until we lay hold of Him as our source of success, we will never have real power to overcome! 

This Jesus is ‘the stone that you, the builders, have rejected, and now he has become the cornerstone!’ 12 There is no one else who has the power to save us, for there is only one name to whom God has given authority by which we must experience salvation:  the name of Jesus.”

(Acts 4:11 TPT)

He is the stone that is now the Chief Cornerstone! Upon Him we can begin to build our lives and He is a rock that will enable us to withstand the storms of life.  Look at this parable. 

“Whoever hears these teachings of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall because it was built on rock. “Whoever hears these teachings of mine and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. And it fell with a loud crash.” When Jesus finished speaking, the people were amazed at his teaching. He did not teach like their teachers of the law. He taught like someone who has authority.

(Matthew 7:24-29 ERV)

We can’t ignore His principles and His words and be successful at overcoming our minds.  Not real resolute victory.  Not if we want real peace void of fear and anxiety.  We will find ourselves continually at the same place, time and again. The shifty sands of relying on our own strength and wisdom will only bring us to the repetitive reconstruction of ourselves because the storm tore down everything we were trusting in. When we begin to truly hear and begin to obey His teachings, we become wise and can withstand the storms, recognize the lies, and stand firm in the protected fortress of His truth!  Immovable, unshakeable with our face like flint towards His promise! 

If you are your own worst enemy, and most of the time we are, then maybe you need to first bury the stone in your own head? Start with burying the stone of truth in the forehead of your own mind! Scripture tells us that we should let His mind be in us! 

Think as Christ Jesus thought.

(Philippians 2:5 NLV)

To think like Jesus, we have to know his words.  

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

(Romans 12:2 NKJV)

The Smooth Stone drawn from The Brook and then pulled from The Shepherds bag is the stone that will give us victory IF we will put our faith and trust in Him! Not just hear these words but obey them.

The house built upon The Rock DID NOT FALL! Bury The Stone of Truth deep into the forehead of your mind and begin to think like a champion! Because you have everything, you need to win!