We all have them.
Problems that seem larger than life.
Issues that we must wake up to every day.
Battles we must fight.
Difficult choices to make.
And what determines whether or not you will face defeat or have victory in the end?
It’s one thing really.
It’s not the size of your problem.
It’s not how strong you are.
It’s not the tools you have to fight with.
No, it’s none of those things.
It’s one thing alone: who is by your side and what you spent your life focusing on.
This is so clear in the story of David and Goliath.
There was really nothing special about David that made him be the hero in this story.
There was no logical reason that set him apart and made him rise above all of the Israelite soldiers who were trained for battle when all he was trained for was to watch after sheep.
The only difference between David and all of the soldiers from the army? Who he spent time with.
The Israelite soldiers woke up every morning and all they kept hearing was the relentless taunting of Goliath (1 Samuel 17: 8-11).
All they focused on was his size (1 Samuel 17: 8-11).
Day after day they woke up to his shouts.
Night after night they fell asleep with fear wondering when the end would come.
They compared themselves to his battle gear and to his size.
They listened to his demeaning words and they knew they couldn’t win this battle so they did nothing.
But David on the other hand spent his days watching after sheep.
Spent his nights dreaming, praying, and singing praises to God under the moonlight.
He learned to battle the bears and the lions that came his way with God’s help.
He was continually in the presence of God each night and day.
So when he came to visit his brothers and he saw Goliath, when he heard his taunting words, he didn’t waste any time in fear.
The size of this giant didn’t matter to him.
His words didn’t mean a single thing.
Because after spending time in God’s presence David knew who the real victor in this story would be.
He knew that he didn’t need special battle gear or weapons to fight (1 Samuel 17: 38-40).
Why? Because he understood that in the end, it wouldn’t be him fighting the battle, but God fighting that battle for him.
And we need to understand the same thing when it comes to the giants in our lives.
If we are constantly living in worry and fear because of the circumstances we are in and the issues we need to handle then we need to re-evaluate who we’re spending time with.
Do you wake up every morning to the taunts of the enemy who is constantly trying to discourage you? Tempt you? Bring you to defeat?
Or do you wake up every morning and praise Jesus as you sit at His feet?
Do you spend sleepless nights in constant fear wondering when the end will finally come?
Or do you fall asleep with peace in your heart knowing that God will fight every battle for you and that He is always near?
See the issue isn’t so much the giant that is in your life.
The issue isn’t whether you are qualified to fight or not, because honestly, you’re probably not.
No, the real issue behind the problem in your life is what you’re focusing on and who you’re spending time with.
Victory came for the Israelites not because Goliath went away.
Not because some brave soldier stepped up and decided to fight with his own abilities and weapons.
No, the victory came because a young shepherd boy spent enough time in God’s presence to know that defeat would be impossible when God was next to him.
And you can have victory in your life if you choose to do the same.
Your situation might not change just like Goliath never went away.
Your problems won’t magically disappear, BUT although your situation won’t change you can.
You can choose to stop staring your problems in the face and instead stare God in the face.
You can stop listening to the taunting voice of the enemy and start listening to the loving voice of God.
You can stop sizing up how big your problem is and start sizing up how big your God is.
You can stop thinking that you are fighting this battle on your own and start handing it over to God.
You can turn your defeat into victory, not by your own power, but by the power of God.
It’s up to you. Now the question is, what will you choose to do today?
I hope you choose to be like David instead of the Israelite soldiers.
I hope you choose to focus on the One that is bigger than any giant that is standing in your way.
I hope you choose to stop wresting with fear because you know that the One who can and will fight your every battle is by your side today.
Be blessed and don’t forget to hand all your problems over to God. He will help you defeat any giant in your life. -Anna… ♥
“…it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” – 1 Samuel 17:47
Well said. Too often we go through life tossed by the waves of our circumstances, when all we have to do is choose. Choose our Rock to stand on, and choose whose voice we’ll heed. Again, very well said, Anna!
Thanks Rebeca. It really does come down to the choices we make and like you, I choose to stand on Christ, my Rock, who will help me remain unshaken and strong no matter the storms that come my way! I’m so glad He is by my side every day!
Great post Anna, your words hit home again. I hope there are people out there that appreciate your post as much as I do. May God richly bless you.
I’m glad it hit home for you! It’s good to know that my musings are good for people other than myself. Thanks you for your kind words. I hope you have a great weekend!
Thank you for this post. Just what I need to hear today. The giants in my life are taunting me. I will grab my five smooth stones and trust in God.
Amen Lily! You get those “stones” and trust God to help you defeat those giants in your life! None of them are as big as they seem to be when compared to our Almighty God!
I for another, do appreciate this too!!! 🙂
Thank you Jonathan. 🙂 Blessings to you!
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
FIGHTING GIANTS….!
so insightful anna! our David is Jesus Christ fighting and winning the battles for us! Praise God we are now marching from victory to victory because of His death on the cross!
Amen! None of us are equipped to fight our battles on our own. We are so blessed to have the King of Kings fight our battles for us and lead us to victory in all areas of our life!
Reblogged this on declaringhispower.
Got a few giants to take out today. It’s too easy to default to “victim,” and it’s time to knock it off!
\o/
I totally agree Tami. Victim mentality is hard to overcome but it’s so great knowing that no matter what happened in our past or what circumstances we find ourselves in today God is always next to us and He is ready to handle everything that comes our way if we are willing to surrender it to Him. Good luck in taking those giants out 😉 Be blessed!
Thanks!
\o/
Such an encouraging post!
Thank you Lydia 🙂 Be blessed!
This is such a blessing in my life today. Thank you for sharing what God has put in your heart.
That’s awesome Kim 🙂 That’s exactly what I’m here to do! Be blessed!
I have read some of your articles and im half way through reading your new posts. I’m so Blessed and really touched for all the posts that you made and I know God is really using you to give life and inspiration to others. I have one question to ask you and i hope, you can give me advices to this.
I met a guy (a faithful disciple) in our fellowship.. We have a same past experience about love, I was betrayed from the one that i love while he was left by the girl that he loved. 3 years before i used to observed him and i know deep down in myself that i started to like him but because of the heart breaks that i have felt from the previous one, i become reserved and afraid to face the reality that i’m starting to like someone. I’m afraid to what people might say to me and i admit that.
But because of being too focus on studying and serving God, i used not to worry and i have learn to wait and become satisfied that God is really a contentment. I trust God and i surrender my life to him much more believing that He will write a very beautiful lovestory of me and my future husband to be. I do not have any Boyfriend since birth that is why there is a fear inside of me to handle relationship and also the courting if any case. Through those busy years of spending my life to studies and studying word of God, little by little i understand His will, His words and His promises which gives me strength and inspiration everytime i wake up. But that guy feels like, he is inside of my heart and when i was alone, a big picture of his face keeps flashing back of my mind and i can’t help but to think how he is that time. I don’t even know his name, He even not notice me when i was around all that i know is deep down inside my heart… i like him. secretly that God is the only one who knows about him..
Until…
this year, i was so surprise that me and that guy become friends. Yes. So sudden and even me, i didn’t believe how that communication open that so fast for us. We communicate often thru text and calling each other.. when there is an activity on church, we used to greet each other, and do what normal friends are. Its 6months since we become friends. During our friendship, i know that i was falling inlove with him and i confessed to him. But that confession of mine is just to let him know what i really feels toward him i was not in a hurry for marriage or anything i don’t want you to misunderstand that.
He answered me that he loves me too and i’m so special to him BUT he told me that he wants a solid foundation of friendship first before going or stepping to another level of relationship. We loved each other BUT we need to be righteous in the eyes of God. we have discussed together that we should focus now on serving God and build a strong foundations in our friendship. He also told me that he really know how much i love him and he asked me to wait and be relax for now. He also told me that i dont need to prove anything on him because he knows how much i love him.
He even told me that when he was about to court me, he will ask permission first on our pastor then to my mom. He also promise to me and to my mom that he will going to visit to our house. He also shared to me that, at the age of 24 he is going to settle down and he also asked me question like this: “when i was going to court you, am i easily get your yes or you will let me pursue you more?” I replied him: “What do you think?” he said: “Please, let me do the pursuing and don’t give your yes easily.”
after 2 months, he was hired for work and he become too busy. Sometimes, no text from him, sometimes he will text me. The schedule was not that stable and i started to worry. But when he text me, there is always and apologize like : “I’m sorry if i was not about to text you everyday. Im so very busy at work” that apologize is always in his messages everytime he used to text me. Well, i understand him because it’s work. Another month had passed and i was worrying too much. Until, i open up my concerns to him. and just repeated his explanation like to our conversation when i was about to confessed. He told me not to be excited and leave all the chase to him. I’m so impressed to him, because he really teaches me alot in terms of handling my emotions and my actions and he really guarded my heart not to be distracted on serving God.
I’m a short tempted person and sometimes, i was struggling to this upto last week, i have a weird feelings of letting him go because i feel like i was tired of waiting for God’s timing. And believe it or not, i have a dream this week:
he was lonely in one corner and our pastor come to him and asked about his problem. He told to our pastor that it was me, his problem and he said: “Im failed and heartbroken–because she can’t wait. She don’t even learn to wait for me.”
When i wake up, i feel so very disappointed and i pray to God. I texted him and i remind him how God really loves him and how much i love him. I also leave him a message about my dream. But i didnt get any reply.
this is not my first time having this kind of dream. Seriously and honestly, i have a diary where all my dreams with that guy was written. I used to write them all so that i cannot forget it. and i notice that my dreams is like a continuous story. I believe God wants to speak with me but i dont get the exact vision. I believe that dreams are not that just an illusion.
I never stop praying and im asking for God’s guidance to this. But for now i want advices.
Can you help me with this? what is your perceptions? how’s your perception with the guy? I’m confused.
Godbless you!
Hi dear! I honestly don’t know where to begin with answering this question because there are so many parts in the story I don’t fully understand, but I will do my best. 🙂
From what you’ve written about your friend it seems like he is not 100% sure about what his intentions are for you at the moment (other than building a strong foundations of friendship, which I agree is very important in any relationship). He seems to refer to courting and pursuing you in the future and what you and him expect for that but in the present time he is focusing on staying friends for now until he is ready to “settle down”.
He also seems to want you to not allow him to pursue you too quickly (if the time comes, when he does) so based on all of this information it looks to me like he is saying many things about your relationship in the future (not now) so he is not ready to commit to you right now and even if he is in the future, it’s not 100% certain that it will happen.
The fact that he is busy all the time (with work) is also interesting because I think if a guy really does care about you as much as he says he does he will make time for you no matter how busy he is. Especially since he didn’t reply back to you after you told him about your dream (and your feelings toward him). Being an outside observer, it would seem like he seems to be distancing himself from you and a potential relationship.
As for your actual dreams about him I would personally not think of them too seriously. Most of our dreams are from our mind trying to subconsciously make sense of all of the feelings and thoughts we have throughout the day. Many times they don’t have a spiritual meaning behind it at all. I know this from experience because I’ve had multiple dreams in my life (about different people during certain times of my life) and when it came down to it those dreams really meant nothing except that my brain was putting things together from my life. I would be very careful in thinking that a dream is sent from God (especially when it is about a person from the opposite sex who you have strong feelings for).
Yes, I’ve heard stories of people having dreams about meeting their future husband/wife a certain way, and it came to pass, but for the most part, those people were not in their life when they had those dreams so there was nothing in their life at that time to trigger those dreams.
If I was in your shoes I would remain friends with this guy but I would let go of the idea that we will somehow have a romantic relationship in the future. I would pray for him and ask God for guidance but I would stop texting him (and especially telling him how much I care about/love him).
I think you having a break from communicating with him (unless he initiates it first) would be good for both him and you. You will give him a chance to either miss you or to end the relationship altogether (if that’s where it’s heading) and you will give yourself the opportunity to focus on other things in the meantime that maybe you’ve neglected because you are focused on him.
I know this is probably not what you wanted to hear, but this is how I would handle the situation in your place. If you keep holding on to this relationship and it will never be anything more than it is right now then you will spent way too much time worrying about something that was not meant to be yours in the first place. Letting go isn’t easy but having hope for something that may or may not happen is even harder (at least in the end).
To keep your heart safe you should really consider making this relationship less of a priority in your life than it is in the moment. Seek God’s counsel in your situation and maybe ask for some advice from an older woman in your church (or even your mom if you are close to her). They will understand it more than I do (from what I have read). They can probably give you better advice than my own.
I hope this helped you more than confused you. 🙂 Relationship advice can be tricky and in the end you should listen to God’s voice above all others (including your own and your feelings). May He guide you and make it clear to you what it is that He wants you to do. Let me know how it turns out. Be blessed!
Thank you. This really helps so much. And you are correct. For the mean time, i stop texting him because i was busy with the church activities. We have a big production this week. And i’m one of the cast of that production. (It was titled: “Heaven’s gates, Hell’s flames)
For the meantime, serving God really helps me focus on ministry and for precious souls. God little by little healed all those little agony within me and i thank God that during our presentation, He makes me realized that He is the missing one who will surely complete my life. I will ready to let that guy go because i will not loose hope now for God’s promises for me.
Well, i’m open in our elders in the church and my mom is my bestfriend. I used to asked some advices with them. And i thank you also for giving your advices.
Godbless you sister! 🙂
-Marish
That’s awesome Marish! It’s so good that you are staying involved in ministry and it’s helping you keep your priorities straight and your focus on God.
And I’m glad that your mom is your best friend! I’m sure she has much more insight and wisdom in helping you with this relationship in your life. I know it will all work out in the end (whether the relationship happens or not).
In the meantime may you continue serving God in church and as He guides you in the right direction. Be blessed! 🙂
I just finished a new post and it totally relates to what you wrote. In our perspective the giant is huge, but in God’s perspective it is nothing that he can’t handle. I love that he is willing to take care of us in our desperate times of need and won’t give up on us even if it takes a while for us to realize that we need to give “our giant” up to him. Thanks for writing this! I am encouraged.
We are definitely blessed as God’s children to have Him fight all of our battles for us! It really is hard to surrender them to Him sometimes because we think they are our own battles to fight. I’m so glad that He always steps in when we allow Him to. 🙂 I look forward to reading your post when you publish it. Take care!
I love this Anna. I while back I wrote about my husband being unfaithful to me. I prayed and prayed for God to help my family heal from this terrible crisis. I am happy to tell you that we are in a healing place. My husband & I are working together to form a marriage that can no longer be tempted, my daughters are starting to heal and work through this terrible problem. That affair and it’s aftermath was Goliath. I couldn’t help but try to fix the problem, but only when I surrendered to God did things become more clear.
Thank you for all of your wonderful words.
God Bless!
Hi Kathy, wow, I can’t imagine the pain and hurt you went through to first forgive, then heal, and then restore and rebuild the marriage with God’s help. That’s not something anyone would be able to do on their own. I’m so sorry that you went through it all but I am happy to hear that God helped you defeat your Goliath and is still healing your heart and helping you work through the obstacles that you still face daily.
What a powerful testimony of what God can do if we only surrender our hurts and our struggles into His loving hands. May He continue giving you strength and hope each new day as you face it with Him. Thank you for sharing your story on here. Be blessed!
You have no idea how desperately I needed these words from God. What a huge blessing this message was to me…I have found the strength to not fight my own giants, but to let God fight them for me. Thank you so much