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Beginning last week, we began a series on the life of David and we have
titled it, David: King Con? Last Sunday, we saw
God leading Samuel to anoint David, the youngest son of Jesse, as the future
King of Israel, passing over all of David’s older brothers.
We were reminded that God does not judge according to outward
appearances, but rather by what is in the heart.
It might have been helpful for Goliath to have recognized
that one cannot be judged just by their outward appearance!
Goliath was a big man. Six cubits and a span,
almost 10 feet tall! Even if David was an
average sized man, Goliath was still almost twice as big.
I get the impression David was not full-grown yet.
He was called “just a boy” by Saul.
David quickly assures King Saul that although he is “just a boy” he has come
up against “Goliaths” before… “Your servant has
killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like
one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God…
the Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the bear will save
me from the hand of this Philistine.”
David convinces King Saul he’s up to the task. David even refuses to wear
King Saul’s armor for protection. Instead, David
goes to the brook, chooses five smooth stones and
with those and his slingshot goes out to deal with
Goliath.
Now think about how Goliath must feel. He had been strutting
around for 40 days, spewing all kinds of
invectives at the Israelites, challenging them to
put their best soldier up against him. And they
send… a boy??
He must have been seething inside!
Goliath hurls insult after insult at David. But
David’s ultimate words: “…the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for
the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand” ring
true. David kills Goliath, striking him in the one vulnerable spot in all
that armor Goliath is wearing.
What is your Goliath? What is that great big giant
of an obstacle in your life that seems unbeatable, insurmountable and
impossible? What is that thing, or things, that
you think might just be your undoing? What is the
Goliath in your life that might just have you thinking about throwing in the
towel?
Perhaps you have met Goliath in the past. Maybe
Goliath is troubling you right now. Whether we admit it or not, most of us
have a Goliath or two in our lives.
And we don’t just have our personal Goliaths. Our families have Goliaths
that haunt and taunt us. Our church families have Goliaths that haunt and
taunt us. Do we dare to name our Goliaths? If we
name them, then we recognize them, and are forced to do something about
them.
Let’s think together about some of the Goliaths that might be looming in our
personal lives and in our corporate lives:
~ Addiction Alcohol
- prescription drugs, sex, our work.
~ Fear of failure - somehow
we won’t measure up to others expectations.
~ The end of the money arrives before the end of
the month arrives.
~ Loneliness - how much
longer do I have to go home everyday to an empty house?
~ A marriage that is less than what we thought it
would be.
~ Chronic or life threatening illness that makes
us feel like a burden upon our families and friends.
~ Worry that paralyzes us.
I want to share with you one of the Goliaths in my life.
My constant Goliath is trying to put my head and heart
around what God thinks about different things and how God would have
me respond to those things.
Do you remember several years ago
when we went through the WWJD, What Would Jesus Do, phase? Bracelets,
t-shirts, caps. You name it,
if it was something that could be printed on, you could find WWJD
printed on it.
Oh how I wish it was that simple…to ask one’s self, “What Would Jesus Do?”
and the answer would automatically be revealed.
There are those for whom that works; they know the
answer immediately. Give them a situation and they
can tell you what Jesus would do in that situation.
I am not one of those people. Perhaps I don’t know or understand the Bible
as well as those folks. Perhaps I don’t understand human nature as well as
they do. Perhaps they never have to ask God,
“Are you there?”
I struggle with understanding where God’s mind and heart lies with all kinds
of issues. For instance,
I struggle to understand what God would have us to do about the US
involvement in Iraq.
I know some of you could tell me very quickly what God’s mind is about that!
What is the right thing to do? Is the US Goliath in this story, looking out
for its own interests? Is the US David in this story, facing great evil? For
me, it is all very complicated and I desperately want to know what God
thinks.
I realize that some, perhaps many of you, believe you know what God thinks
about this situation and are ready to share that with me.
I am envious of your certainty. But God has not gotten me there yet.
Perhaps it makes you uncomfortable to hear one of your pastors admit they
don’t know the answer to something that casts such a dark cloud on our lives.
That she wakes up in the middle of the night and
wonders and worries about such things.
I’m sorry if my Goliath makes you
uncomfortable. It certainly makes me uncomfortable! It would be so much
easier for me if I could know the mind and heart of God regarding every
issue that faces me. Until the time comes that I
do, I believe the one thing I can take from David’s encounter with Goliath
is from what David himself said in
Psalm 27:1:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord
is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Today I want to encourage you to confront your Goliath. I want to encourage
you to deal with this enemy that robs your life of hope and joy. I want you
to join with me, and even in the uncertainty and the doubt and the fear, let
us declare together, “The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I
be afraid?” That my friends is the good news from the story of David and
Goliath.
During our Church Family News time, I asked you to address to yourself the
envelope you received this morning. Now I want to invite you to take out the
index card you received and write down your Goliath or Goliaths on it.
Then put the card in the envelope and seal it. When the offering plate is
passed, please place your envelope with the card in it in the offering
plate. I will gather them and keep them, unopened.
Our David: King Con theme runs through July 30. On July 31st, I will put all
of these envelopes in the mail and your card with your Goliaths noted on
them will be returned to you. My prayer is that by the time you receive your
Goliath card in the mail, that you will have experienced, even if your
Goliath has not been totally defeated, that God is indeed the stronghold of
your life and you need not be afraid.
[The congregation fills
out the cards while Charlie plays “It Is Well with
My Soul”]
“The Lord is the stronghold of our lives; of whom shall we be afraid?” Not
even you Goliath…
not even you!!!
Amen. |
