My Goliaths

Scripture: "And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle." 1 Samuel 17:28

Observation: Eliab was a man. In chapter 16 Samuel was awestruck at his stature and appearance. Judging from the outside, he appeared to be great. But on the inside, his heart was not in the right place. David on the other hand represented everything that you would not look for in a deliverer. On the outside, he looked like an unlikely hero. But on the inside, his heart fully belonged to God. David was an underdog. God likes to use underdogs. The trouble is, underdogs take a lot of hits as they follow God.

Application: I have felt like an underdog all my life. I scarcely remember a season in my life that I did not feel inferior to the people I worked with. I always seem to end up in a setting that finds me surrounded by people older than me. By people way more experienced than me. People who have no logical reason to listen to a word that I say.

While I have grown to accept this as God's plan for my life, it does at times become difficult. Sometimes the people closest to me can say things that hurt me. Things that remind me of who I am, who I used to be, or the good and bad that I am capable of committing. Sometimes, all it takes is a question that I can’t answer or a problem to send me spiraling down to a place of despair and feelings of inadequacy. That’s when the Goliaths show up.

I know my Goliaths well. Some I have taken care of. Others linger on the battle field. They sit and wait on the perfect opportunity to strike their blow by reminding me of some things about myself that I do not like. In the heat of these moments of intense pressure, I have grown to learn that I have two basic choices. The first is that I can shrink away. This is what every man in Israel had done in this chapter. From the king down, they had hidden themselves. The same option is available to me when I face adversity. The second option that I see is I can take what God has done in my life and use it to give me the courage to charge into what it is I am facing. This is the only way to kill a Goliath. They don’t just go away. They get louder.

Prayer: You have given me more than I could ever deserve. As I look back over my life, I realize just how much You have brought me through and I am moved with a deep sense of gratitude. Given the history we have it should be easy for me to remember what You have done and find the faith I need to continue to advance in my walk with You. But it is not. There are Goliaths today that I need to take down. They stand in my life and constantly remind me of who I am and what I used to be. Most of my Goliaths are not external people, they are internal thoughts and emotions that I have let run loose for too long. Help me to remember Your great name as I head into these battles. Train me to take captive every thought that I have and allow me the wisdom to see through people and look to the real enemy. Paul tells me that I do not wrestle with flesh a