We have all heard the story of David and Goliath. When no one else from the mighty army led by Saul was brave enough to face Goliath, David stepped up and killed Goliath on his own. This is what David said to Goliath the giant before he stuck him down in 1 Samuel 17:45:46 “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.”
In 1 Samuel 17:8-11, we see Goliath challenging the Israelites. “Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.”
For forty days no one from the army of Israel was able to step up against Goliath and challenge him. They were scared and terrified by his size, his strength, and what would happen to them if they fought him. They had forgotten all about who was on their side. The God of the entire universe was with them, yet this philistine giant was holding them captive to fear. That is until David showed up and defeated Goliath becoming an instant hero.
The real story here is not the fact that David was able to defeat Goliath but the inability of everyone else in the Israelite army to do so. What happened to Saul? What happened to his mighty generals? What happened to all the mighty Israelite soldiers who were trained for battle? Here was a chance for the mightiest warriors of Israel to step up and become a hero. All they had to do was realize what David did, that their God was mightier than this giant but instead, they were all paralyzed by fear and just froze up.
How many times in our lives have we had to face our own Goliaths and ended up frozen in fear just like all the soldiers in Saul’s army? How many times have we let our fears get in the way instead of trusting in God? How many times has God asked us to step up boldly in faith but instead we chose to cover in fear? We are all faced with challenges and obstacles in this life. Sometimes they might seem too big and large to conquer on your own like Goliath but we forget that God is on our side. Psalm 27:1 says “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” The question is do we believe this in reality when faced with challenges in our life?
What David did by facing Goliath changed the course of his life forever. He became a hero. Thousands of years later people still talk about what he did. That is the difference between facing our fears and trusting in God. We are all warriors in God’s army whether you like it or not you will be faced with many Goliaths in this world. Can you face your Goliath whatever they might be in your life as David did by trusting in your God? If we do then we will become the heroes that God has called us to be.