Facing Your Giants

 ^“David said to the Philistine, “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.” 1 Samuel 17:35

Last night before we went to bed, I read the story of David and Goliath to our little girl. I never get tired of hearing or reading this story. What encouragement we can find in the story of one little boy, five smooth stones, and one mighty God. You can read the story for yourself if you would like. It is found here, in 1Samuel 17.

This morning I want us to think about the giants we face. We all have them. No matter what they are, each one of us faces giants every day. We may not be facing a nine-foot tall giant with a sword, but no matter what your giant is, it can be just as scary if we are not equipped with the right defense.

What kind of giant are you facing in your life? What do you call him? Is your giant named fear? Is his name heartache? Maybe you call him illness. I do not know what the name of your giant is, but I do know that the Bible promises help for any giant we may have to face.

I want to offer you some encouragement today. Just as little David took five smooth stones and defeated a giant, I want to offer you some defense for the giants you face in your life.

Are you are facing the giant named fear? Maybe there are things going on in your life that are uncertain to you. Maybe you are facing problems that no one else knows about and you are afraid. There is someone who wants to fight that giant for you. His name is the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) You see, the devil wants to fill us with fear. He knows that he has no real power over us, so he uses our own feelings against us. Fear can be a pretty big giant. The more we focus on him the bigger he gets. I encourage you to let the Prince of Peace fight your giant fear today. The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:7: ^” And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Do not let fear defeat you. Let the peace that only God can bring flood your heart.

Are you facing the giant named heartache? Has someone or something broken your heart? Maybe a dear friend or family member has passed away. Maybe someone close to your has said something and hurt your feelings. There is someone who will fight the giant heartache for you. His name is the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. We read in Romans 8:26: ^” Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Let this verse encourage your heart. We are assured that even when we do not know what to say, when we do not even have the words to utter our feelings, the Holy Spirit will go before us and intercede for us. If you are facing the giant heartache, please let the Comforter fight the battle for you. Let the Holy spirit comfort your heart.

Maybe you are facing the giant illness. Do you fear that you will never defeat him? You can not defeat this giant on your own, but the Bible does offer some help. Many times in the Bible we are told about Jesus healing people. Many times we refer to Jesus as The Great Physician. All throughout the New Testament we find stories of Jesus healing the lame, the blind, even raising people from the dead. We read in James 5:14: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” I can not promise you that Jesus will take away every sickness that you have. We read in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 about Paul’s thorn in the flesh. He says: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” We are not always promised healing. We can rest assured, however, that God’s grace will be sufficient if we will only trust in Him, The Great Physician. If you are facing illnesses in your life, find comfort. Whether you are healed as so many were in the Bible, or whether you must endure your thorn in the flesh as did Paul, you can find comfort in knowing that Jesus has a plan for your life. We must simply trust that the God of the universe knows what is best for us.

I do not know what giant you are facing today, yet I can promise you that you do not have to fight him alone. Just as David found the courage to fight the giant, Goliath, you can have the same courage to fight the giant in your life. No matter what you are facing, God is right there beside you, holding your hand, if you will only have faith and trust in Him.

Advertisement

He is Here Right Now

 ^“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17

Why is it that we often think of God as some larger than life being, who sits and watches us from afar off?

What  a sad, lonely place the world would be if this were true.

I want to start off today with a word of encouragement for you: HE IS HERE!

Does that give you a little more hope today?

I want us to realize that we were not put on this earth to wander around aimlessly, until our life has ended. No, God has placed us here for a reason and He is here!

Do you remember what Jesus told His disciples when He ascended into Heaven? He told them: “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”( John 16:7) Jesus is talking about sending the Holy Spirit to be with the disciples after He has gone back to Heaven.

That very same Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised was coming then, still dwells here with us today. Is that not encouraging?

When life gets hard, when your day takes a turn for the worse, or when you are facing a trial, do not wonder where God is. Trust that He is here. He is working things out.

Life may not always turn out the way we had hoped or planned, but we can rest assured that God is not surprised. He does not mess up, He does not make a mistake, and nothing surprises Him. Now that is encouraging.

The last part of today’s verse says that the Lord rejoices over us with gladness, He comforts us with His love, and He rejoices over us with singing.

The Lord is not going to leave you. No matter how hard life may seem, no matter how bad your day gets, God is right there rejoicing over you, comforting you, and loving you every step of the way.

I pray today that you will allow God to cover you with His love. I pray that you will remember our verse from today and find comfort in knowing that we have not been left on this earth to just wander and wait. No! We have the Holy Spirit here to guide and comfort us. We have our Lord and Savior rejoicing over us.

I pray that these words have been an encouragement to your heart today.

God bless you.

More than a Number

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Psalm 139:1-14

” O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

You are more to God than just a number.

In this world of PIN numbers, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and even those aggravating little paper numbers you have to take at the DMV, it is easy to get lost. As our world gets more and more busy, it also seems to get less and less personal. Very few times in the world in which we live do people take the time to really get to know someone.

 This year at school, our children had to memorize this portion of scripture.  They were required to memorize one verse a day until they could say the whole Scripture by memory. There was one little first grader who blessed my heart every time I got the privilege of listening to him quote these verses. As he would say each scripture by memory, I could just image God looking down on that sweet little boy and smiling as He listened to these words being spoken by one so small.

I believe that God feels this way about all of His children, big and small alike. You see, to God we are so much more than a number, so much more than a speck on  a map, even more than a number on a census sheet stuck away in an office somewhere.

God looks at each one of us as if we were the only one on earth. He sent His Son to die on a cross for each and every one of us. Had we been the only one, God still would have done the same thing, just for us. John 3:16 tells us:

“For God so loved the world

that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him

shall not perish but have eternal life.”

 

Friend, you can take the words “the world” out and insert your name there. Jesus died on the cross just for you, and just for me, and just for everyone who ever lived and who will ever live on this earth.

Oh, how great is God’s love for us that we should be called His children! (1 John 3:1)

The next time the devil tries to get you to believe that you are nothing more than a face in a crowd of people, that you are not important, or that no one cares, please remember these verses.

God knows you by name, He knows the very number of hairs on your head(Matthew 10:30), and He cares.