Ready:
“David said to Saul, ‘Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine … The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” - 1 Samuel 17:32, 37
Set:
We can all struggle proving we are strong enough. This may be the very message we are receiving from others and/or from ourselves. But as followers of Christ, what if we changed the lens through which we look and instead of trying to prove our strength, we became living proof of God’s strength?
The story of David defeating Goliath is one of the Bible’s most beloved stories because it reminds us that we all face giants and it gives us hope that we, too, can defeat them. But the lesson it teaches us is that we defeat our giants not through our strength, but by trusting in God’s strength. As we look at the story, we encounter two different perspectives watching the same Goliath. One is focused on their strength, or lack thereof, while the other is focused on the strength of the Almighty God.
Both King Saul and Israel saw this giant and heard his threats through the lens of self and reacted in fear and refused to fight.
“David said to Saul, ‘Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine … The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” - 1 Samuel 17:32, 37
Just a shepherd boy, David saw this giant and heard his threats through the lens of God and His strength. He reacted in faith, fought and won.
When we look at our struggles, the broken world around us and the giants in our lives, we can view them through the lens of self, who can be weak, small and fearful, or through the lens of the living God, who is strong, big and all-powerful. As followers of Christ, the same Holy Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives in us (Romans 8:11), and that should give us a whole new perspective – one of love, joy, peace and hope. May our focus not be on the giants in front of us but the living God who died, rose and dwells inside of us … that is proven strength.
Go:
Have you been focusing on the size of your problem or the size of God?
How can you shift your focus to see God’s strength that is always with you?
What is one attribute of God’s character that you can hold onto that reminds you that God’s strength is already proven for you?
Workout:
Overtime:
“Lord, sometimes I see the situation in front of me, and it looks too big. And then, my faith looks too small. You are a big God, full of power and strength. May I focus on You, and how the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead lives in me. Amen.”