Open Church

Who hasn’t heard the story of David and Goliath?! At least, the part where David, the young shepherd boy, goes after the giant Goliath and kills him with a single stone to the head. The problem with stories like this is that they become a little fairy tale-ish, and the point is often lost.

According to the biblical story, Goliath was nearly ten feet tall and wore 126 pounds of armor. He wore a bronze helmet and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighted over fifteen pounds. For forty days, morning and evening, he would come out and shout his intimidating challenge, terrifying the Israeli troops. In response, the Israeli troops would make a lot of noise and play war games as a show of strength, but no one would take Goliath’s challenge. After all, he was too big, too well equipped and far more experienced. The Israeli troops were paralyzed by their fear of Goliath.

Life is full of giants. We all have them. They may not be ten feet tall or carry spears that are the size of a fence rail with tips that weigh fifteen pounds, but they keep us from becoming all we can be; they steal our dreams and restrict our gifts and abilities. Goliath’s strategy was intimidation. He wanted the Israeli troops to be overwhelmed with his size and ability. He was in their face and bigger than life. He thundered at them with unreasonable demands. That’s the definition of intimidation. It’s goal is to make you feel less, inferior, timid and incompetent. To make you feel inadequate for the challenge. Intimidation seeks to take or inhibit your courage by threat.

What are the giants that you face? Is it past failure or regret? Bad decisions or stupid choices you wish you had never made? Is it habits that you feel powerless to change that are destroying you and holding you back? Perhaps it’s fear or broken relationships. Just as David stood up and faced his giant, we have to face ours. Just as God gave Goliath into David’s hands, He will redeem our situations and give us the head of our giant. The troops of Israel lost hope. David held on to hope and faced Goliath’s challenge with courage and faith.

After being asked what the key to his great success was, Winston Churchill simply responded, “Never give up, never give up, never give up”. Then, he turned and sat down knowing that his point was clearly made.