Defeating The Giants In Your Life
And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:40 (KJV)
If you have lived long enough on this troubled terrestrial ball (aka earth) it is inevitable that you will be confronted by giants in your life. Giants are an insurmountable set of circumstances or events and experiences that you believe to be formidable and seek your demise. They are consistently characterized as being formidable opponents. They inspire intimidation or obeisance by being impressively enormous powerful and adept.
There is a historical but biblical account of a colossal confrontation between a giant Philistine combatant and an adolescent shepherd not acquainted with warfare. The initial prediction of the outcome seems to advance a flawless victory for a giant named Goliath and his people, the Philistines, and devastating defeat for David and his people, Israel. This was due to the enormity of Goliath’s size, equipment, weapons and experience. The scripture tells us that he was a warrior from his youth (1 Samuel 17:33) who was estimated to be 9.9 feet tall. It is also estimated that the combined weight of his battle armor and weapons were between 150 and 200 pounds. Therefore, this had to be a humongous hulk of a man with the strength to effectively utilize his huge weapons.
Now David, on the other hand, had no war or battle experience (1Samuel 17:33), had never been fitted for battle armor or even trained to use a sword. He brought to the fight a sling and five smooth stones, which by the way, was completely unconventional. But we know from scripture that the weapons of a follower of Jesus Christ enormously eclipse any earthly equipment of war. Awesome in power, infused by our infinite and Almighty God, that when executed in faith, the weapons of the Christian eviscerate enemy strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)! David decisively conquered his giant-sized opponent and delivered the people of Israel from their enemy, the Philistines, using his weapons, faith in his God and five smooth stones and a sling (the physical weapons that his God led him to use) (1 Samuel 17:34-51).
As I mentioned earlier, we will not be exempt from facing giants in our life. They can be formidable! Consider with me the following plausible giants that have delivered despair and desolation:
Subjugation
Alienation
Degradation
Discrimination
Isolation
Frustration
Procrastination
Humiliation
Intimidation
In faith, we must face these giants with the following five stones. These five stones are five steps to deliver a death blow to your giant.
Follow the Word of God (Purpose to pursue and follow)
Abide in the Word of God (Remain; stay connected)
Intimacy with the Word of God (Know, experience, relate)
Trust the Word of God (Absolute reliance)
Hide the Word of God in your heart (Psalm 119:9-11)
Remember that faith is the victory that overcomes the world (and we know the size of that giant)!
For the Glory of God,
PBKSR