Face 'giants' in His strength

This morning a devotional reminded me of David, the teen-aged shepherd who fearlessly faced down a giant on the battlefield.

I was reminded of an experience I had in junior high school, when I responded to my own “giant” – not confident but bound by fear.

My family had moved from one state to another, and I was uneasy in my role as “new kid.” Among many intimidating realities about my new school was an awareness that fistfights sometimes took place at “the upper field” after the school day had ended.

Then one morning in the first class of the day a classmate approached me with stunning news: one of the toughest guys in school had let it be known that he was going to fight me after school.

My day was ruined. I struggled through the long hours ahead, totally racked by fear of a fistfight with a fellow student I had never even spoken with.

The day passed slowly. I went to my bus stop, looked around, climbed the stairs to the bus … and arrived home without incident some 15 minutes later. No confrontation, no fistfight.

As it turned out, the classmate who told me about the “fighter’s” plans for me had fabricated the whole story. It was a joke, and it is likely the “giant” who immobilized me with fear did not even know I existed.

“Well,” you might respond, “you were new to the school. You were just a kid, and fighting was not your nature. It was natural to be afraid.”

Those things are true, but the point here is the difference between my response and young David’s to our giants:

David responded to news of a fierce warrior who was blaspheming God (1 Samuel 17:43: “The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.”). The young shepherd exclaimed: “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37)

Unlike David, I did not respond to the prospect of “battle” with a prayerful appeal to God, with confidence that He would see me through this crisis. Instead, I allowed the lie to devastate me, pulling me into a tortured day teeming with fearful imaginations.

I would like to say I learned my lesson and spent the rest of my teen years trusting in the Lord even when challenges seemed overwhelming. In fact, I continued on many occasions to wallow in fear rather than approaching the Father’s throne with confidence in His covering.

The good news: I have learned, like David, to go to the Father immediately when the challenges of life (giants) threaten to cast me down in fear. I am not saying that I live without occasional lapses of anxiety, but I have fully embraced the truth that fear is NOT part of God’s plan for my life – for ANY of those who have surrendered their lives to His lordship.

I give You thanks, Father, that Your desire for your children is not a life without trials and tribulations, but a life built on a foundation of love and confidence as we encounter and move beyond those challenges in Your strength. There has never been, and will never be, a “giant” You have not already defeated. I pray that all of my sisters and brothers in Christ – young and old – will repeatedly ask for Your gift of supernatural peace.

Genesis 15:1 “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great’.”

Exodus 14:13 “But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever’.”

Isaiah 43:1 “But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine’!”

Luke 12:7 “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”

Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”