Goliath

Goliaths

Carol Purves Carol's Blog , ,

From time to time Goliaths appear in our lives. appear in all our lives. We are faced with insurmountable problems, worries and disasters which are quite ”insurmountable.’ I’m not a person who naturally worries a lot but when these concerns arise I do my share of worrying. Being a person who likes to be in control I keep thinking of solutions. Usually there are none. Night-times seem to be for scheming and not for sleeping.

I need to take a leaf out of David, the shepherd’s, life. He didn’t scheme or plan or have sleepless nights. I wonder if he worried at all when he faced the giant Goliath. Reading the psalms that he wrote later in his life I imagine he was completely calm. His trust was solely in God. ‘I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel,’ he cried ‘It is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves.’

Not in his own Strength

Carol Purves Carol's Blog ,

We read in 1 Samuel 17 how David was going to overcome Goliath. He tells Saul he has tackled and killed a bear and lion and was therefore capable of slaying this uncircumcised Philistine. He wasn’t boasting in his own power and strength; he was boasting in the power of the Lord who rescued him.

We all have our own Goliaths. There are two ways to deal with the problem. We can use money, influential contacts, physical strength or guile. But there is only one sure way to prevail against our Goliaths. We need the ‘power of the Lord.’ Of ourselves we haven’t enough ability to overcome the ‘world and the devil.’ As the old chorus says, ‘Go in the strength of the Lord.’