BY STEPHANIE MORENO

In our home the story of David and Goliath is an absolute favorite. My kids love that a young boy fearlessly volunteers and defeats Goliath with a slingshot and five smooth stones. I know David points us to Jesus Christ, but if read too quickly it’s easy to place a “supernatural” label on it and move on. However, there is so much we can learn from 1 Samuel 17 to aid us when facing our own giants – the problems in life that we have to overcome. Giants can be the circumstances we are encountering (failure, rejection, financial hardship) and/or the giants we face on the inside (intimidation, fear, depression, loneliness). Many times the giants we face in our circumstances reveal the giants we are facing on the inside. Giants appear impossible to overcome and may cause tremendous discouragement. Are you facing a giant right now? Are you feeling overwhelmed and weary by the size of the giant? Let’s look a little closer and see how we can apply the principles from this story.

1 Samuel 17 begins with a description of where this story takes place, verse 3 says “So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.” It is interesting that the setting in which this battle occurs is in the valley. Billy Graham said “mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.” When we come up against a giant it can be inconvenient, discouraging, challenging and even scary, BUT it is also an opportunity for growth and transformation. It is a game changer when we shift our perspective to view the giants as opportunities. Instead of facing our problems with dread and fear, we can truly face them with hope and gratitude. I think we can even face them with excitement. I spent most of my life not understanding that my walk as a Christian involves BECOMING like Jesus. So why not be excited at the opportunity for Him to bring me from glory to glory?! When facing Goliath, we must choose to change our perspective and see the opportunity for transformation.

In this valley of opportunity, Goliath shouts a taunt across to the Israelites. The giant says “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul” (1 Samuel 17:8). Did you catch that? Goliath calls the Israelites the servants of Saul, but that isn’t their true identity. The Israelites are God’s chosen people, in covenant with the living God, they are not merely servants of Saul. Verse 11 describes the reaction of the Israelites, “they were terrified and deeply shaken.” The Israelites forgot their identity! They took on and wore the identity Goliath spoke over them. For 40 days, every morning and evening, Goliath taunts the Israelites. I could imagine that as each day passed, the size of this giant grew bigger and stronger in the eyes of the Israelites. But when David arrives, his reaction is much different from the Israelites. He questions, “who is this Pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” (verse 26). David knows that he isn’t a servant of Saul, he is a servant of the living God and he knows that a Philistine is no match for his God. The giants in our lives will attempt to influence us to assume the wrong identity – that we are less than who God created us to be and that we are no match for a giant. Like David, we must know and walk in our true identity and know the God whom we serve – we are not only a servant of the living God, we are His Children and nothing is a match for God Almighty. When we are viewing the giant through the proper lens of our identity and who God is, the power of intimidation shrinks. What problem is too big for God? 

Since David is already wearing the proper lens, he responds to the threats of Goliath without fear. Soon, King Saul hears about David and sends for him. King Saul tells David that there’s no way David can fight this giant and win – he’s only a boy. David tells King Saul that while taking care of his father’s sheep and goats, he rescued lambs from the mouths of lions and bears and that he also caught the lions and bears by the jaw and clubbed them to death. He says in verse 37, “the Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine.” David was prepared for this battle, because of his previous battles while shepherding in the fields. He wasn’t only trained physically through fighting lions and bears, but he was also trained in knowing the Lord. After telling King Saul about his previous experience in combat, he says the Lord who rescued me from lions and bears will rescue me from Goliath. He knew that He was not going against Goliath by himself, he stood on his experience with the Lord and knew that God would deliver him again. Giants will attempt to make us feel alone –  like we are fighting the battle by ourselves. We must stand on the promises of God, on His word and on the memory stone moments where God has shown himself faithful. This is the power of a testimony. The Hebrew word for testimony means “do it again”. When we recall and speak the testimonies of God defeating the lions and bears in our lives, we are declaring “God, do it again!”  

Even though King Saul is trying to discourage him, David is determined to fight declaring “God WILL do it again!” King Saul finally agrees and gives David his own armor to wear – a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David picks up the sword, takes a few steps and realizes he cant’t fight with Saul’s gear. David had trained without a helmet, coat of mail or sword and so they were unnecessary for him. He runs to the stream and picks up five smooth stones to use in his sling shot. Even though David is facing a bigger opposition than ever before, he didn’t need to suddenly pick up and depend on unnecessary items to defeat the giant. He put his trust in God and the tools God had given him. We do not need to gear up to fight giants within our own strength and suddenly depend on other sources that God has not given us. God has gifted us the Holy Spirit – we have all that we need! He will lead us and guide us every step of the way. We must learn to throw off trying to defeat our giants within our own strength and in our own ways. The victory will come through Him.

With the correct weapon, David comes out to face Goliath. The giant continues to taunt young David and curses him by the names of his gods. David replies, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies – the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” (1 Samuel 17:45-47). David declares twice that the Lord will give the giant to him, but he would need to kill the giant. The Lord has already given us victory through Jesus Christ, but we still have a part to play in killing the giant. It reminds me of the Israelites entering into the Promised Land. God had given them all the land but the Israelites still needed to drive out the enemies. Killing the giant enables us to walk in a greater level of authority and a deeper dependence on the Lord.  

David defeats this giant with a stone to the forehead and then cuts his head off with  Goliath’s sword. This is my favorite part…King Saul is watching David’s defeat and he asks, “whose son is this young man?” No one knew, so David is brought before the king while still holding the head of the giant. King Saul says to him, “tell me about your father, young man.” David is the one who slays the giant, but all King Saul can think about is David’s father. When we defeat giants, the victory becomes a testimony of who our Father is. He gets the glory! 

The very giant that is trying to take you out, is an opportunity for growth and transformation. In order to defeat the giant, you must stand firm in your true identity as a Child of God and remember that this battle belongs to God. He has delivered you before and He will do it again. Now is not the time to search for other sources to save you, you come in the name of the Lord – cling to God and keep your eyes on Him. Jesus Christ has already given you victory, but you will need to be obedient in order to kill the giant. Fruit is produced in the valley!!