Defeating Your Own Goliath

           The story of David and Goliath is one of the most well-known accounts in      the Bible. Any child who has attended Bible classes has no doubt heard this story of bravery in the face of great adversity. David, who was a young boy at the time, showed his courage and faith in God by standing up to the giant, Goliath, and, with just a sling and a small stone, defeated a foe so intimidating that all of the seasoned Israeli soldiers ran away in fear of him. When reading this account, it is amazing to consider how David showed so much faith in God at a time when it seemed that all odds were against him. One might wonder how David acquired this level of faith. Let’s consider a few things that David did prior to confronting the gigantic Goliath that we can use when facing our own challenges in life. 

1. David drew on and reflected upon the many examples of God’s past faithfulness in his life. David remembered when God had blessed him and helped him throughout his life.  “David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.” (I Samuel 17:37). We can reflect on our many blessings and the many times God has helped us in our own lives, and use these memories to gain new strength when facing a new challenge. We can also see how God worked in the lives of others who are considered faithful in the Bible (Hebrews 12:1).  Since God has been with us and helped us so much in the past, we can know that He will continue to help us throughout our lives! 
2. David did not let pressure from others stop him. When David volunteered to defeat Goliath, many of the soldiers around him, including his own brother, told him that he was not capable of such a task (I Samuel 17:28). Even King Saul told David that. He was no match for Goliath (I Samuel 17:32-33).  These grown men were discouraging David from doing the very thing that they were afraid to do themselves. Whenever Goliath would come out and challenge the Israelites to send someone to fight him, the soldiers would run in fear. No doubt these men looked at young David and thought that him defeating Goliath was impossible, but they underestimated David, and they underestimated God!  When we are about to face a great challenge in our lives, we should not let others discourage us from trusting in God to help us! If we listen to God rather than other people, we will have the courage to deal with anything that comes our way!
3. David saw God, not Goliath.  When David was having to confront Goliath he focused on God way more than Goliath. In fact, in the account of David and Goliath, David mentioned God around 10 times, but only mentioned Goliath around 4 times. By keeping his focus on God, who is the Creator of all things, David did not view Goliath as the unbeatable giant like his fellow Israelites did. Instead, he knew that he would be the one to kill Goliath, and thus helping Israel gain a victory against the Philistine army. We should also keep our focus on God during trying times, and trust Him to help us through them.                                                                                                 

           David gave us some great example of how to persevere through trials in life. Whenever we are faced with a daunting challenge, we should do as David did, and put our trust and focus on God. There is no challenge set before us that God cannot help us through! By focusing on how temporary the challenges of
this life are in comparison to the permanence of eternality, we can put things
into a better perspective and, like David, gain the courage needed to succeed!It
is no wonder that God called David “a man after mine own heart” (Acts 13:22).May we live our lives with the level of faith and trust in God that David had
throughout his life, so that we can be Christians after God’s Own Heart as well!
Our eternal souls depend on it!

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