He stood nine feet tall. Clothed in armor weighing over 120 pounds, armed with an oversized javelin and sword, his presence was “full on” intimidation. His mocking only intensified the dread and fear felt by his adversaries.
Goliath was the champion of the Philistines and with the contempt of a bully he challenged the strongest among the Israelites to face him. Yet not one soldier dared stepped forward. But a young man named David did.
Without a helmet, chest plate or shield,
without a sword or javelin of his own,
David rushed out to meet this giant with a slingshot and a few stones.
Surely this weapon must have seemed laughable to Goliath. But when David placed that first stone into his slingshot and hurled it at the giant, that stone represented David’s faith in God to give him victory over this giant. One small stone, hurled in faith, felled this hulk of humanity who had overwhelmed the army of Israel with a debilitating fear.
One small stone! Perhaps this is why Jesus said,
“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move.” (Matt. 17:20 NLT)
Or as we learn from David:
Faith the size of a small stone can fell a giant.
Now the giants facing us today may not be in the form of a nine foot Philistine, but make no mistake we have giants bullying us each day – chief among them is the giant of fear. We are constantly bombarded with news that overwhelms us and invokes fear.
Fear of terrorism
Fear of a financial collapse
Fear of escalating, senseless violence
Fear of diseases for which there are no cures
Fear of floods, fires, earthquakes
The list goes on and on. And it becomes so easy, like the Israelite army, to only see the giants before us, to allow fear to consume us. Instead we need to follow David’s lead. We need to pick up our stone – the stone of faith and “hurl” it at our fears! Reminding ourselves of these words from the mouth and heart of God the Father:
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “ (Isa. 41:10)
David embraced this truth as he picked up that small stone. We can do the same!
Joy Gruits is a Christian educator, speaker, and writer. Her passion is to share a Biblical truths that challenge and motivate people to become devoted followers of Christ who fulfill God's divine purpose for their lives.
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Good word and very timely for our world. Love reading your blog Joy.
Thank you for your encouraging words.
Thank you, Joy! Great reminder. Those fears do touch each of us every day. I’m believing God.
Very good Joy. Blessings to you.
Amen! Timely and uplifting as always. Thank you!
I loved the line that “Faith the size of a small stone can fell a giant.” How true it is that we have giants bullying us everyday and that chief among them is the giant of fear. I have struggled with various fears for years but I know that with God’s help I am overcoming and gaining victory over the giant of fear in my life. Thank you for an excellent word Joy!
Thank you for your comment! We are so blessed to have His Word to encourage and give us strength to face the giants of this life.
Took us too long to read this inspiring message, Joy; but finally we did. We have been praying for the mountain that confronts Tracie and I daily and are encouraged by this message. Thanks.