1 Samuel 17

Carl Belcher

Well, I'd like to be able to say that the following wisdom came to me during my 5 hour intercessory meditation today, but to tell you the truth I didn't have one of those and it came from talking with my friend Stuart who probably did!

We were talking about ceilings. Neither of us have a particular passion for interior design, so it wasn't that sort of ceiling. The ceilings we were talking about were the barriers that we have in our lives, relationships and jobs. Just like hitting your head when you jump up and down on your bed, there are ceilings that exist that stop us from going as high as we would like to in our lives.

So what do you do when you feel like you've gone as far as you can go and are hitting a ceiling?

Well a great example in the Bible of someone who managed to go further than those around him was David and there are a few lessons we can learn from his encounter with Goliath.

Firstly let's look at Goliath and how the enemies' tactics haven't changed much!

1 Samuel 17 - Goliath

1. Reputation - Reputation doesn't necessarily mean ability
Goliath had the armies of Israel quaking in their boots due to his reputation as a 'champion' (verse 4). Had they personally seen him in action? Did any of them actually fight him? As far as Goliath was concerned they didn't have to, his reputation was already paralyzing them into inaction. There are a few giants in our land today that can have the same effect. Just because something has the reputation as an insurmountable problem, doesn't mean that it can't be done, it just means that most have already given up before giving it a go.

2. Magnification - Bigger doesn't necessarily mean better
Goliath was a big guy, that much is obvious. Everything about him was big. His, height, his armor, his weapons and his voice (Verses 4-7). It doesn't matter how big you are if you've got a rock in your head where there isn't supposed to be one! When compared to God, even the largest of problems are tiny by comparison. It doesn't matter how big the challenge is, God is and always will be far larger than anything that tries to stand in our way.

3. Intimidation - We can all talk a good talk
I'm not proud to admit it, but sometimes when my older brother and I used to fight I would make him chase me outside the house and then quickly run back in and lock him outside! I still remember now how I felt as my brother would yell through the letterbox of the unspeakable things he would do to me once he'd got his hands on me. This wasn't the most sensible tactic however as I became even more determined that he wouldn't get back into the house! Eventually though I would let him back in and even though it usually meant the combat climax of our brotherly war, it wasn't half as bad as the things he promised would happen as he shouted through the letterbox. Saul and his armies were dismayed and greatly afraid when they heard Goliath's taunts (Verses 8-11) even though these were just words. What's stopping you from overcoming your challenges? Stop listening to the intimidation of the enemy and get ready to experience a victory.

4. Invitation - David heard the opportunity for victory, not defeat
Goliath wasn't just content in shouting "Come on then if you think you're hard enough." To rub their noses in it even more, he put forward an incredible invitation that would yield a high reward. In effect he was saying "The chances of you winning are so remote that I'm willing to bank my lifelong personal freedom on it and that of the whole of the Philistines."

David however rather than being threatened, saw it as an opportunity and saw the reward. Get used to focusing on the reward that will come with victory rather than the penalty that could come with failure. What reward is awaiting you on the other side of the challenge you're facing?

5. Repetition - Repetition doesn't mean unending
Goliath had by now taken centre stage for 40 days with his morning and evening rendition of "You're going home in a Saint John's Ambulance.." and it had done the trick in systematically deflating the armies of Israel.

When you experience something for the 1st time it's innovative, when it happens a 2nd time it's familiar, when the 3rd time comes round it's becoming habitual and after that it's become the norm. The enemy loves nothing more that to dull our senses to the injustice that surrounds us today. We might not have the daily onslaught of a loud mouthed giant in our ears, but we sure have a messed up world full of hurting people who desperately need those who have the truth to say "Whoa there..this 'aint right". David realized that just because no one else had stopped to say "Hang on, this just isn't right" in all that time, didn't mean that it didn't need saying! Even if those around you are content to systematically let injustice slip by unchecked and unchallenged, are you?

It's time to stop gawping at the giant and bring it down!