November 12 | By Faith David Killed Goliath

Series | The Life of Amazing Faith

Scripture | 1 Samuel 17:32, “David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

Lesson 12 | By Faith David Killed Goliath

The story of David and Goliath is probably the most well known inspirational story of the Old Testament, 1 Samuel 17.  Just the mention of it brings people hope to believe in God to overcome whatever situation they are facing in life.  As a result, Goliath has been used figuratively to represent every challenge in life from spiritual attacks of the devil to financial hardships to sin.

However, what I feel gets lost often times in all the comparisons and present applications is the simple fact that a young boy trusted God in a way that thousands of people around he did not.  David was just a shepherd that could see that God was bigger than all the enemies he could ever face in life.  And he believed that God would give him victory over a giant just like He had empowered him to slay bears and lions, 1 Samuel 17:36-37.

But what made David’s faith so different than everyone’s fear?  Weren’t there other former shepherds in Israel’s army that saw God’s protection?  I figure there had to be other men, especially King Saul, that had seen God do amazing things in the past.  Plus, everyone in the army had heard of the stories of ole’- the miraculous victories of Gideon, Deborah, Samson, and the other mighty warriors of God.  Why couldn’t they hear God’s voice of past faithfulness over the sound of terror from Goliath?

I believe the answer is simple and is the real lesson of encouragement from David’s life- David chose to believe God was greater than Goliath.  The thousands of other soldiers could recite the stories of the past, claim their trust in God, and still stand on the sideline and do nothing about it.  David, on the other hand, was compelled by faith to stand for God and face the enemy no matter what the consequences would be.  He was either going to die a fool for God or win the greatest battle known to Israel at that time.  Either way, He couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.  His faith in God motivated him to move and confront the enemy.

Does your faith in God empower you to face your giants in life?  Or are you going to just stand there and talk about what God did in the past and say you believe.  I challenge you to re-read the story of David’s faith and then go out and conquer your problems in life!  No excuses- just do it!

Reflection | Do you have faith in God to overcome all the challenges you are facing in life?

Action | (1) Ask God to forgive you if you have been standing on the sidelines of life afraid to face your problems.  (2) Prayerfully ask God to give you boldness and faith to face your giants.  (3) Lastly, like David, by faith in God conquer all the giants in your life!

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Ezekiel 24:1-26:21, Hebrews 11:1-16, Psalm 110:1-7, & Proverbs 27:14. Click here to read online.