Thursday, May 27, 2010

May 27, 2010

"Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken." I Samuel 17:8-11
Was Goliath a giant obstacle or was he a giant opportunity?
He was both! It just depended on who you asked! There was the actual Goliath, who was a large and powerful man. Then there was the even larger and more formidable giant that the Israelite soldiers were looking at and listening to. And then there was the big target that David saw.
What is it that determines your reality? Is your reality determined by what you see or by how you see what you see? Do you see life through eyes of fear or through eyes of faith? It makes a giant difference!
The soldiers were measuring Goliath's strength against their own. His size and strength were far superior to theirs. There was no denying that! We are talking about faith here - not fantasy! Faith is not denying reality it is focusing on a greater a reality!
That explained the difference between David's perspective on the giant as opposed to how the soldiers saw him. David knew he was no match for the strength and experience of the massive mountain of a man. But that wasn't a problem for David because he never planned on confronting the giant in his own strength. He had a realistic look at the giant but he also had a focus on a greater reality - God's strength!
They couldn't see beyond the giant and David could. They saw a big giant but he saw a bigger God.
Therein is the difference that faith can make. Faith is life without limits. Faith is a God-sized life.
Your life is filled with difficulties and challenges. Even on a good day life is bigger than you! To deny that is begging for trouble. In real life, giants don't always show up one at a time. Often they come in tandem or in groups! If you don't have a faith that is bigger than life, you will spend your days staring at giants paralyzed by fear and filled with frustration.
Don't you think God has something better than that in store for you? Do you think that God sent Jesus to suffer and die on a cross so that you can spend your life defeated by giants? Do you believe that Jesus submitted to leave heaven, become human and die a humiliating death in order for you to spend your life as a victim? I don't think so! I think He wants you to be a victor!
But you can't BE what you can't SEE.
David saw himself as a victor because he saw the power and strength of God! The army allowed themselves to become victims because they couldn't see beyond their own weakness. David chose a faith perspective but they settled for a fearful point of view.
Are you living as a victor or a victim? It depends on how you view your giants. You can decide as David did or you can default like the Israelites. Being a giant-killer is just one decision away. today could be that day!