Life is full of hills and valleys. On the highest mountaintops, you can see all the world’s beauty and experience all the good things in this life. But just as there are glorious mountains, there are also low valleys between them.
The only way to get to the next mountain with a better perspective and more experience is to go through the valley. There isn’t a way around it or over it. You just have to put on your big boy pants and face whatever battles come your way.
The Israelite armies faced such a time when they encountered the Philistines and a giant nine-foot-tall of a man named Goliath. There is no sugar coating it. Goliath was a brute and stood much taller than anyone else.
If you’ve ever been in a fight, you know how intimidating the opponent seems. Facing any kind of “giant” in life will always be overwhelming, but sometimes we have to remember Who fights for us.
The Israelites stood on one hill and the Philistines on another—with a valley between them. For forty days the Israelites were taunted by Goliath. Giants are not made in a day. They grow into humanly, unbeatable beasts and the longer they are not faced the bigger they become.
Now David had three older brothers who were fighting in the Israelite army. He was the baby of the family and his dad, Jesse, asked David to take some food to his brothers and check up on them and then come back and give a report to his dad.
I don't know if Jesse knew what he was really doing in sending David to the battle lines. David was a man after God’s heart. He wanted to honor God with all he did whether it was shepherding sheep or “visiting” his brothers on the front line of battle.
Upon his visit, David quickly saw or rather heard Goliath. Giants can talk a mean talk and get into your head to mess with your confidence. When you put your confidence in God alone and not in your own ability, mighty and things not humanly possible can and will happen.
The whole army was belittled by the giant day after day and they had believed his taunts that they were not worth anything. But little boy David ended up facing Goliath head on because he refused to give in to what the giant was yelling in their ears. He didn’t want any protective, outer armor, swords, shields, or normal weapons to defeat him.
He walked up to the giant with a pocket of smooth stones and a sling. As astounding as this thought is, it didn’t matter what he had physically to use in the fight, how small he was, or what he chose to wear. It was Who he chose to be with him. He ran up to Goliath and declared, “You come at me with sword and spear. I come to you in the name of the Lord almighty.”
At this declaration, he slung one of the stones and it hit Goliath square in the middle of the eyes. Something so simple defeated something unbeatable. Someone so small defeated someone almost twice his size.
How is this even possible? When you invite God into your situation, it doesn’t matter what you have on hand to fight your battles or how big you are. You are the child of a big God who will fight your battles for you if you only declare victory in His name before you charge into them.
The power of God makes you mightier and stronger than you could ever be on your own. It’s the only way to defeat the giants you face in your life while you walk through the valleys.
What battles have you faced and have you tried to rely on your own abilities to defeat them or given them to God to fight for you?
