How To Slay Your Goliath
by Rita Langeland
© 2002 Hidden With Christ Ministries
Every person at some point in life faces a “Goliath”. It is a situation in which it appears to be impossible to come out the victor. In fact, it looks like “Goliath” is going to take you “out”. We know the story of David and Goliath gives us this same picture of impossible odds. Goliath was nearly ten feet tall, completely covered with bronze armor. He carried a spear, a sword and a javelin and had been a warrior since his youth. His unlikely opponent was the teenaged shepherd boy armed with a slingshot and five smooth stones from the brook. The oddsmakers of today wouldn’t have given David a chance. Yet it was David who came out the winner. And this victory was not to be his only conquest, David went on to win every single battle he ever entered.
What was his secret? If we examine the scriptures closely, we can discover David’s secret of success against Goliath as well as other enemies he eventually faced. In First Samuel 17:36, we find that David recognized that the enemy had “...taunted the armies of the Living God.” Properly identifying the enemy was the first key. David identified that the enemy was standing against God not just against the Hebrews as individuals or as a nation. This was not an issue of one human army (the Philistines) against another. He identified a spiritual component of the battle. And because of this, he was certain that God would give him the victory if he stepped out and faced Goliath in the strength of the Lord.
In your personal battle, you must properly identify the enemy. Many people misidentify the enemy as their boss, their husband or wife, their unscrupulous business partner or some other human opponent. Or they may see circumstances such as the death of a loved one or a financial reversal as the great enemy of their life. The truth is that Satan is your adversary. Until you recognize that reality and find God’s weapon for your battle, you will be on the losing side.
First Peter 5:8 warns us this way: Be of a sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Whether he is trying to devour you through grief, bitterness, resentment, worry, fear, anger or some circumstantial pressure the battle will only be fought properly when you stop blaming the humans who may appear to be the source of your troubles, and recognize you have a far more devious foe. Though Satan may influence the humans around us who allow him, the humans are the not enemy. Satan is your enemy and he is just as interested in destroying those he uses to trouble you as he is in destroying your life. Jesus told us this in John 10:10 when He said, “The thief comes only to steal, kill and to destroy…”
The first key for your victory is to properly identify the enemy and then you will know that you must use spiritual weapons to defeat him. Ephesians 6:12 explains it this way: We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. When the apostle Paul wrote these words, he had flesh and blood enemies trying to chase him down, imprison him and have him killed. Yet he did not see those people as his enemies, but recognized the spiritual forces opposing him. If your husband or wife seems to be your enemy, realize that Satan is against you both to destroy your marriage. As long as you keep focusing on the person as the source of the problem, you will never win. Do your battle against the enemy of your soul, not the human being he is using to harass you.
A second key to victory that David discovered was to inquire of the Lord for His way of dealing with the situation. This was the main reason David never lost a military battle. You can see this pattern in David’s life repeated over and over again. (see I Sam. 23:2; I Sam. 30:8; and II Sam. 5:23) In the case of Goliath, we see David utilizing God’s method, the slingshot and the stone and rejecting man’s method of the armor and a sword. King Saul tried to get David to use his armor and weapon but David refused and proceeded to use the unlikely choice that God wanted to use. Oftentimes you will discover that God’s method or His way of doing things will look like it is no match for the battle you are in. In fact it may appear that doing things God’s way will only insure your defeat. This is why many people, when faced with a difficulty, choose to do things their own way instead of God’s way. Yet the reality is that when you make that choice, you will eventually be the loser.
When being truthful or honest in a situation (which would be God’s method) looks like it will bring you harm, you will be tempted to take matters into your own hands and lie or be deceptive or cheat on your taxes. When your boss or someone else is treating you badly you will be tempted to respond in kind, become resentful and feel perfectly justified in doing so. Yet God’s way is to “bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:28) When your spouse is not showing love toward you, you may be tempted to withhold love and affection. Yet God’s method of resolving marital difficulties is to pour out unconditional love regardless of the other person’s actions or response. Love endures long and is patient and kind. Love does insist on its own rights or its own way...it is not touchy...or resentful, it pays no attention to a suffered wrong. Love...is ever ready to believe the best of every person...Love never fails. Those attributes of unconditional love found in First Corinthians 13 are God’s method or God’s way of dealing with the humans in our lives. And love is a weapon that will bring you victory in your life. Yet many people believe that to act in God’s prescribed manner would be a sign of weakness to others that would result in being taken advantage of by people. Yet God’s unlikely weapon of love, just like David’s slingshot, will result in victory rather than defeat in your life.
The third key to victory we can observe in David’s life is his choice to speak by faith and not by sight. David told Goliath, “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I will smite you and cut off your head.” He was not speaking based on what appeared likely to happen in the situation. He was speaking by faith. He trusted God to intervene for him. If you trust God to intervene for you, then you must choose to speak by faith. You need to say what you believe, rather than saying what you see with your eyes. God is going to restore my marriage...God is helping me love my in-laws...God is turning our financial situation around...God is healing my body…. Many people will only say what they see, “...it doesn’t look like it is getting any better…” and their faith is defeated right there. Make sure you speak words of faith and not defeat about your situation.
The fourth key to victory we can observe in David’s battle with Goliath is that David took steps of faith. I Samuel 17:48 says David ran quickly toward the battle line. Those were steps of faith. He had to act like he expected to have victory in this very unlikely battle. You may be in a battle that looks impossible to win. If you are going to come out the winner, you must begin to take steps of action that reflect your belief that God is going to bring you the victory. If your marriage looks like it is going to fail, you need to start acting like you are fully expecting it to survive and thrive. How would a person in a thriving and happy marriage act? That is how you must act (and treat your spouse) if you are going to obtain the victory. Those are your steps of faith. Ask that same question about your particular situation and take steps of corresponding action. Remember, faith is unwavering, unshakeable trust in God, His Word and His character and love for you. Make sure faith guards your speech and your actions.
To slay your Goliath:
~Properly identify your enemy (Satan)
~Inquire of the Lord and His Word for His method of defeating the enemy
~Speak by faith and not by sight
~Take steps of faith that correspond to what you believe God is going to do in your situation
~God wants you to slay Goliath!
This message is available on CD and mp3.
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KEYS Teaching Pamphlets Copyright 2002-2009 © Rita Langeland. 'KEYS Teaching Pamphlet' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions:
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