Walking To JerusalemSample

Jebus – The City of Personal Promise

David took up the sword of Goliath and cut off his head. This is because there is no need to keep the corpse of a giant once it has been slain. In the battle against your giants, it not only is necessary to defeat it, but to dismantle it as well. The obstacle that has stood against you should be examined after its defeat so you will know it was not as dangerous as you thought.

Goliath was a giant, but he was still a man. The other soldiers of the army of Israel were paralyzed by his taunts for more than forty days and nights before David defeated him. His size, armor, and threats were enough to convince the most valiant soldiers of Israel that Goliath could not be defeated. They might have regarded the giant as more demon than human. David decapitated the giant so all the troops could see that Goliath’s power was not supernatural. So often we make the things we fear bigger than they truly are. We imbue natural obstacles with supernatural powers and the things we are facing become larger than life—they become giants that paralyze us. Once we have the defeat, it is important to demonstrate for others that these giants are not supernatural, are not demonic, and are not all-powerful. They are just large human problems.

The importance of unmasking these giants is just as vital as defeating them so others’ fears will be assuaged. The giant will hold its power unless it is proved not to be greater than we are. When you take on other giants in your life, use this same approach. For example, when you take on the giant of debt it is important to also show people that debt is not insurmountable. Normal people with simple tools can bring it down.

Don't just overcome the giant of depression in silence. Stand over this enemy, and show the world that depression can be defeated with God’s help. Don't just overcome the giant of fear, cut off its head and make it a public spectacle. Gather the public trophy to the power of the grace of God that is active in a believer’s life. We have to publicly dismantle the mystique of our giants so others will be encouraged to fight their own giants.

This is why, after all these years of silence on many issues in my own life, I am compelled to share. The giants I have faced and overcome have been numerous and terrifying, but I was mistaken not to display their decapitated heads to the body of Christ. It is my hope that these trophies of His grace will encourage others to face their own giants. The giant of fatherlessness, the giant of motherlessness, the giant of physical abuse, the giant of homelessness, the giant of foster care—these have all been slayed with the stones God has given me. Now I am finally in an emotional space where I feel able to allow others to know the details of these hard-fought battles. I do so not to embarrass, attack, or offend anyone, but to display the heads of these giants so others will find courage to fight their own enemies.