January 16, 2014 - "Goliath Who?"

This morning let's discuss a story with which so many of us are familiar - David and Goliath. Now many of us are aware of the basis of the story from 1 Samuel 17. The Philistines and Saul's army are approaching a battle but somehow the men serving Saul have forgotten that they serve in the army of the Lord also. Goliath, who is over nine feet tall - almost 10 - has a serious pride issue and is confident that he alone will secure the victory for his people. The Bible records that for 40 days, once in the morning and once in the evening, he comes to mock Saul's army and their God. Goliath was like E. F. Hutton - when he spoke - EVERYONE listened. Saul and his men trembled in fear. Then, the shepherd boy David enters the story. David has not the height nor the stature, physically, to defeat Goliath. What he has is CONFIDENCE in his God who is the giant slayer. Come on now somebody. David never blinked, never retreated, never made excuses. As soon as he heard the taunting, his spirit locked on the problem and he remembered times past where God had been faithful to rescue and deliver. David was not overtaken by what his eyes and ears heard and saw, he was confident in what God had done! He reminded Saul that God has delivered him from the lion and the bear and that God WOULD RESCUE him again. Although Saul tried to fit the young man with his armor (remember he is TOO afraid to wear it himself), David knew that these weapons were not what God had given him for this situation. I want to bring this into our prayer lives as we stand and declare victory over our issues. Recently, I have had to battle in an area of my life and was discouraged. I tried to go back to "an old weapon" and was frustrated when it seemed ineffective. I felt the Lord showed me a real key when we are standing toe-to-toe with any Goliath in our path to victory. We cannot use the same spiritual weapon for every battle - there's not a recipe. David was not big enough to kill Goliath with a sword. He needed a different weapon and God provided the exact one which would bring the giant down. Here's what I want to pass along. Sometimes when we are waring against our issues, we want to use the weapon of someone else (David tried on Saul's) or we want to use the past formula (bring the armies, draw a battle line and engage). But, in my own life and situation, I had to listen carefully and God began to map out in the scripture the exact weapon for this situation - the exact truth needed to confront and defeat the lie. I felt the Lord shared with me that not every weapon works in every situation. The Holy Spirit knows and God's Word has the key. Let me encourage you to spend time asking the Lord about the weapon needed and then ask the Holy Spirit (who guides us into all truth) to bring you to that truth in His Word that overcomes your issue. That, my friends, becomes an effective weapon. Does it require something from us - yes. But I have begun to see the fruit of my time to study, fashion, and use this new weapon specifically shaped for this issue. Let's unpack more truth from this story tomorrow. Today - what stands in your life and mocks God? If nothing - pray for those of us who are on the battle lines and help serve as our prayer shield. If you need a weapon of choice - pray and study! Have a great Thursday, PK