Today is DAY 1 of Guest Blogger Week at MorningEncouragement.com and I’m super excited for my friend Jason Romine to kick it off.  Jay and I went to Junior High and High School together and then after going our separate ways for a bunch of years, ended up working at the same Apple Store together.  I’ve had the opportunity to watch him grow and see God use him in amazing ways to make people’s lives better.  He is a great man of God, husband and father and it’s an honor to have his voice on here today.  When you have some time, check out his blog at fivestonesandasling.com.

DAVID AND GOLIATH

I am so excited for the opportunity to share with all of you this morning! As you obviously know, Glenn asked me if I would contribute again to his daily blog. He explained that this time I would be writing about my favorite passage from Scripture and why. This sounded great so, of course, I said yes.

The passage that immediately jumped out in my mind is one I know you have all heard before. Even nonbelievers use this passage as an analogy in many arenas. It is the ultimate ‘underdog’ story. It is the story of David and Goliath. This story took on new meaning and depth for me almost ten years ago. We did a study on it in our men’s group and the depth we found is incredible. I will try to keep this post concise and pick out the main reasons why I love this passage so much.

1 Samuel 17 is where you can find the whole story, but I’ll just summarize it for you here:

We all know the main components of the story. David is a young shepherd boy who is sent to the front lines of battle to bring his brothers food from their father, Jesse. When David arrives he sees commotion and fear and inaction. David sees a giant taunting the armies of Israel and no one doing anything about it. David is offended that this giant would berate and disrespect God, and says that he will do something about it. Saul, the king, offers his armor to David but it is cumbersome and impeding. David elects to go to the brook and gather five smooth stones and face the giant with his shepherd’s staff and his weapon of choice which was a sling. There is an exchange of words and David runs at Goliath, loads his sling, and releases a stone that sinks into the giant’s forehead. The giant falls. The end. Right? Wrong. The part that got glazed over, at least in my Sunday school classes, is that David approached the fallen giant, took the giant’s sword and cut off the giant’s head. This is what killed Goliath – having his own weapon used against him. This was the piece that stood out ten years ago for me.

CUT OFF HIS HEAD

When I say, “We all have giants that we deal with”, what do you think of?  What is the giant or struggle that immediately comes to your mind? It could be anything – anger, hurt, addiction, lust, an annoying coworker, an abusive spouse or friend.  Whatever it is, it can seem unbeatable can’t it?

Goliath was the champion of the Philistine armies. He was a very successful killer from a long line of giants from Gath. He was an expert in human destruction.

David was a teenager who watched his father’s sheep. David was a musician, a poet. David was also fearless. David had confidence in his God and would not stand for the abuse of the Israelites anymore.

David brought his skill set to the table. David had wrestled wild beasts when they came to attack his father’s flock. David had honed his skill with that sling. David trusted God, but did not sit on his hands either. He used his God-given abilities to do his part. God had to guide the stone that David flung and give it the ability to subdue his giant. Then David had to unsheathe Goliath’s massive sword, lift it up and take of that giant’s head.

YOUR GIANTS

When you and I face our giants, we are able to knock them down. That giant may stay down for a while, but it will always rear its ugly head when you least expect it. However, when you cut those giants’ heads off, you experience a different kind of release. It will be an on-going process for many of you, but with accountability and encouragement, it is amazing what we can do for one another. It says in Proverbs, Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

When I read this account from Scripture, I am reminded that when our enemy, the devil, tries to attack us and make us doubt who we are, we defeat him by using his weapons against him. My mentor and spiritual father modeled this for me. He comes from a history of drug addiction and when he got saved, he decided to make one of his goals helping others through their addiction. By the grace of God and through this action of helping others slay their giants, he has been sober for decades and found his breakthrough.

God gave us two ears that do not close and one mouth that does. We need to listen to our brothers and sisters and hear what they are struggling with. We then need to take our God-given abilities and ask that the Lord guide us. We can then help each other slay our giants and achieve the victory that can show the world the love of the Father.

If you are going through something and you are being taunted by a giant, ask yourself these questions that I asked myself ten years ago:

– Do you admit but not share?

– Do you have a spiritual mother or father?

– Are you accountable to anyone?

When you can answer these questions, you are on your way to breakthrough.

God is for you and that is my encouragement.

– Jason