“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, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD‘s, and he will give you into our hand.’”
1 Samuel 17:45-47 (ESV)
We face huge and seemingly unconquerable challenges at some moments in our lives. We have no answer, and we can become paralysed about how to face them. At times, we turn to despair, crying our hearts out to God to give us help in our times of deep trouble – like when we face financial hardship, heavy relationship problems, deadly diseases, and personal crises, among other things. What is the best way to confront our giants? We can learn from David, a young shepherd who had the courage to face a big and tall Philistine warrior who mocked God’s people.
We can be overwhelmed by the size and the weight of the challenge, the giant, that is before us. We can see how small, helpless, pitiful, unwise, incompetent, and unprepared we are to respond to the problem before us. Many times, we get stuck, and we want to run away from our giant. We cannot find any easy way out. But remember – help is available to us, the Lord of all creation and the universe, the God of the past, present and future. He is with you, and no matter how tall, strong, and powerful your adversary is, God is greater than anything and everything you can encounter.
The most important thing we need to be aware of when we face a giant in our life is that we are on the winning side, God’s side, as long as we are in the Lord’s hand. Romans 8 says nothing can separate us from the love of God [v39], and in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him [v28]. No matter how big the giant seems to be, our God is bigger than any giant we can face, and in the end, we will be victorious. We also need to be aware that we are not facing our giant alone – the battle is the Lord’s. The Lord and the host of angels and saints are on our side. We are not alone – we are with the Lord, and at times, we cannot see what the Lord is doing, but we can trust in Him all the time.
At times, we need wisdom and advice on how to face our troubles. Let us seek help from those who care for us, who have wisdom, and who give us Godly advice on facing our adversities in life.
At the end of the day, what do we have to lose? Money, and assets? The earth is the Lord’s, and if we trust in Him and do not put our faith in riches, the Lord will provide and care for all our needs. What if we lose our good name, reputation and fame? If we are in the Lord, we primarily want His approval and not anyone else’s. God’s opinion of us counts the most, not anyone else’s opinion. What if we are in danger of losing our very lives? Our lives belong to the Lord already. As long as we are in the Lord, we can look at death as only a passageway to the life that is truly life. We can focus on a life eternal with God without the wages of death and sin – pain, sorrow, suffering, injustice, diseases, accidents, and so on. No matter what adversity we encounter in our lives, the Lord has an answer for it.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake, we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:35-39 (ESV)
God is calling us to be winners and victors in all things. We are not meant to be victims – we are supposed to be conquerors, again, in all things, whether we face giants or midgets in our lives. Anyone who is in God’s hands will never be a loser – unless we choose to be so. Like David, we will deliver our adversary in the hands of the Lord, and we will overcome them. We will win and conquer anything and everything life throws at us, for God is with us.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, and the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Selah
Psalm 46:1-7 (ESV)
Top image credit: A composite of a Scripture quote and shadow of a cross, illustration from Bigstock.com, © clearviewstock, stock photo ID: 6422355. Used with permission.
Tom Caballes is a National Coordinator of the Lamb of God, a community of the Sword of the Spirit with seven branches located throughout New Zealand. Tom and his wife Mhel and their two daughters [with his son-in-law and grand-daughter] live in Wellington, New Zealand.
Blessings, Tom. Thank you for enriching our lives by your witnessing with faithfulness of God’s goodness in our times of adversity.