Facing our Giants

I like to get up early in the morning, before the rest of the family is up, to read the Bible and reflect in the quiet of dawn. This past week I was once again reading through 1 Samuel and the classic story of David and Goliath.

As we all know, David slew Goliath with a single stone from a sling shot which sent the Philistines running in a state of panic and set David on the path toward becoming King. But I believe the real lesson for us lies in the text before the actual battle.

In 1 Samuel 17:4 Goliath is described as “A champion…… His height was six cubits and a span(over 9 ft).⁵ He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels;⁶ on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back.⁷ His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.” Now being a basketball fan, I have seen Shaquille O’Neal up close and at only 7’1″, that man is big, but even he would be dwarfed by the Giant from Gath.

“For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand” shouting “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” The bravado of Goliath had the desired effect: “Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.” No one wanted to go out and face the giant alone, for they were sure they would lose.

But young David didn’t see things the way the other Israelites did. In 17:48, as David faces the giant he proclaims, “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. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

Even though I’ve read through the text many times, for some reason this time a question struck me: how do I face my “giants?” Saul and his men were terrified, because all they could see was the giant that was menacing them day in and day out, but David wasn’t looking at the giant, he was looking to God and in God he felt the strength to stand up to and defeat the giant.

We all have giants menacing us in our daily lives. We have debts too big to pay, addictions to alcohol, drugs, pornography, shopping, or food; we have bullies at school or work and if we allow these “giants” to take our attention away from God, we too can get dismayed and terrified. But if, like David we keep our focus on the Lord, knowing that He will deliver us, we can face up to them and topple them like David did to Goliath.

The Catholic Investment Strategies program of advocacy takes on giants every day such as Forced labor in Brazil, Child Sex Trafficking and Child Labor to name a few. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 teaches: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Our giants may be big and menacing, but as we have seen time and again, when we know that we are not alone in our battle and trust in God, the giants will fall.

Post from: Insights