Facing Giants
God is our strength and refuge
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank You for being my refuge and strength. I will sing praises to Your Name. Your mighty and glorious power is new for me each morning. Forgive me Lord when I walk outside of the path You have placed me on and find myself in trouble. Thank you for not turning away from me in my cry for help and rescue. Thank You for Your mercy and grace that is applied to me when I come to you humbly and repent. Teach me Lord through Your Word to recognize the traps of the enemy and to be aware of the snares that are left to capture me. I give You the praise, in Jesus Name. AMEN.
Psalm 18:2,
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
A Mighty Fortress is our God
Ephesians 6:12,
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Story of David and Goliath (for children and the young at heart)
1 Samuel 17, 1 – 58 Good News translation
17 The Philistines gathered for battle in Socoh, a town in Judah; they camped at a place called Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in Elah Valley, where they got ready to fight the Philistines. 3 The Philistines lined up on one hill and the Israelites on another, with a valley between them.
4 A man named Goliath, from the city of Gath, came out from the Philistine camp to challenge the Israelites. He was over nine feet tall 5 and wore bronze armor that weighed about 125 pounds and a bronze helmet. 6 His legs were also protected by bronze armor, and he carried a bronze javelin slung over his shoulder. 7 His spear was as thick as the bar on a weaver's loom, and its iron head weighed about fifteen pounds. A soldier walked in front of him carrying his shield. 8 Goliath stood and shouted at the Israelites, “What are you doing there, lined up for battle? I am a Philistine, you slaves of Saul! Choose one of your men to fight me. 9 If he wins and kills me, we will be your slaves; but if I win and kill him, you will be our slaves. 10 Here and now I challenge the Israelite army. I dare you to pick someone to fight me!” 11 When Saul and his men heard this, they were terrified.
12 David was the son of Jesse, who was an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and at the time Saul was king, he was already a very old man. 13 His three oldest sons had gone with Saul to war. The oldest was Eliab, the next was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah. 14 David was the youngest son, and while the three oldest brothers stayed with Saul, 15 David would go back to Bethlehem from time to time, to take care of his father's sheep.
17 One day Jesse said to David, “Take a half-bushel of this roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and hurry with them to your brothers in the camp. 18 And take these ten cheeses to the commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are getting along and bring back something to show that you saw them and that they are well. 19 King Saul, your brothers, and all the other Israelites are in Elah Valley fighting the Philistines.”
20 David got up early the next morning, left someone else in charge of the sheep, took the food, and went as Jesse had told him to. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelites were going out to their battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 The Philistine and the Israelite armies took positions for battle, facing each other. 22 David left the food with the officer in charge of the supplies, ran to the battle line, went to his brothers, and asked how they were getting along. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath came forward and challenged the Israelites as he had done before. And David heard him. 24 When the Israelites saw Goliath, they ran away in terror. 25 “Look at him!” they said to each other. “Listen to his challenge! King Saul has promised to give a big reward to the man who kills him; the king will also give him his daughter to marry and will not require his father's family to pay taxes.”
26 David asked the men who were near him, “What will the man get who kills this Philistine and frees Israel from this disgrace? After all, who is this heathen Philistine to defy the army of the living God?” 27 They told him what would be done for the man who killed Goliath.
28 Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard David talking to the men. He became angry with David and said, “What are you doing here? Who is taking care of those sheep of yours out there in the wilderness? You smart aleck, you! You just came to watch the fighting!”
29 “Now what have I done?” David asked. “Can't I even ask a question?” 30 He turned to another man and asked him the same question, and every time he asked, he got the same answer.
31 Some men heard what David had said, and they told Saul, who sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, “Your Majesty, no one should be afraid of this Philistine! I will go and fight him.”
33 “No,” answered Saul. “How could you fight him? You're just a boy, and he has been a soldier all his life!”
34 “Your Majesty,” David said, “I take care of my father's sheep. Any time a lion or a bear carries off a lamb, 35 I go after it, attack it, and rescue the lamb. And if the lion or bear turns on me, I grab it by the throat and beat it to death. 36 I have killed lions and bears, and I will do the same to this heathen Philistine, who has defied the army of the living God. 37 The Lord has saved me from lions and bears; he will save me from this Philistine.”
“All right,” Saul answered. “Go, and the Lord be with you.” 38 He gave his own armour to David for him to wear: a bronze helmet, which he put on David's head, and a coat of armour. 39 David strapped Saul's sword over the armor and tried to walk, but he couldn't, because he wasn't used to wearing them. “I can't fight with all this,” he said to Saul. “I'm not used to it.” So he took it all off. 40 He took his shepherd's stick and then picked up five smooth stones from the stream and put them in his bag. With his sling ready, he went out to meet Goliath.
41 The Philistine started walking toward David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. He kept coming closer, 42 and when he got a good look at David, he was filled with scorn for him because he was just a nice, good-looking boy. 43 He said to David, “What's that stick for? Do you think I'm a dog?” And he called down curses from his god on David. 44 “Come on,” he challenged David, “and I will give your body to the birds and animals to eat.”
45 David answered, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defied.
How to Face Giant Problems
Goliath was a giant. He was nine-feet tall, a champion, wearing heavy armour, standing and shouting, defying the people of God (1 Samuel 17:1–11). As well as physical giants, there are metaphorical ones. A ‘giant’ is a big, seemingly insurmountable problem or issue.
- ‘Personal giants’ could include giant personal challenges in relation to your health, marriage, family, relationships or lack of relationships, job or lack of job, other work issues, or some sin, temptation, addiction, fear, loneliness, discouragement or debt.
- ‘National giants’ in the UK include terrorism, gang violence, homelessness, the breakdown of marriage, family life and community, exploding prison populations, failing schools and the decline of church congregations. There is therefore the giant task of evangelising the country, revitalising the church and transforming our society.
- ‘Global giants’ include extreme poverty (as a result of which thousands of children die each day), preventable disease (millions dying of diseases for which we have a relatively easy cure), the need for universal primary education (almost one billion people unable to read) and the need for worldwide water sanitation (which could be funded by the amount of money that Europeans spend on ice-cream every year).
There are two possible attitudes when facing a giant. One is to say, ‘It’s so big, there’s nothing I can do.’as the the Israelites did facing the Philistines. The other is to say, ‘It’s so big, I can’t miss!’ as David did facing Goliath.
I had a giant of a problem at work on Friday, the two new kitchen stools arrived
which I was pleased about but it was a flat pack and came with instructions stating it would take aprox 20 mins. It did not say whether that was for one or for both of them, either way being dyslexic it was somewhat of a large problem. But with Jonathan as my guide providing me with the confidence to do it. It came with all but one item, a scewdriver, in places he had to tighten it up a bit more, in others he had to hold the frame still. And also helped me to get each piece of wood the right way round then up the right way then lastly facing the right way. Some times we have to accept help from others
God did not use the equiped, he equips us for use; but sometimes we face the wrong way, our armour is not fit for purpose. God has to guide, nurture, or hit us over the head with a proverbial hammer. It takes courage to put our armour of faith on in a way that fits. We have to follow Gods instructions. I am reminded about a passage of scripture that St.Paul wrote while in prison
Overcoming giants
Ephesians 6 : 10 – 20 Good News
10 Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power. 11 Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil's evil tricks. 12 For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. 13 So put on God's armour now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy's attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.
14 So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, 15 and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace. 16 At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One. 17 And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you. 18 Do all this in prayer, asking for God's help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people. 19 And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the gospel's secret. 20 For the sake of this gospel I am an ambassador, though now I am in prison. Pray that I may be bold in speaking about the gospel as I should.
The words of this next hymn by Charles Wesley speak boldly about overcoming the darkness of sin.
Soldiers of Christ arise
We are God’s soldiers. In his mighty power we put on His armour, and we, through power of prayer will build each other up. So let us take time now in prayer to remember the folks who are close to us and Church family for our cominity and world and the things we need to bring to God . listen to the following as you pray
James 4:7 Good News Translation
When a knight won his spurs
Prayer
Lord Let faith be my shield, and let joy be my steed, against the dragons of anger. Help me see from others’ point of view and quell the ogres of greed. And help me be satisfied with what I have.
Let me be set free from the mistakes of my youth.
Take away the castle of darkness and dispair, fill me with Your power of truth. Amen.
Let me be set free from the mistakes of my youth.
Take away the castle of darkness and dispair, fill me with Your power of truth. Amen.
2 Corinthians 10: 4-5
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Jesus the name high over all
Benediction
God’s love surround you, God’s Spirit guide you,
God’s whisper cheer you, God’s peace calm you,
God’s shield protect you, God’s wisdom arm you,
wherever God may lead you. Amen
God’s whisper cheer you, God’s peace calm you,
God’s shield protect you, God’s wisdom arm you,
wherever God may lead you. Amen
A Prayer For you to think about during the week.
May God Bless You and keep you safe until we meet again. Susannah x
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