Goliath Must Fall for Young ReadersSample

Day 2-Fear Must Fall

When you read the story of David and Goliath in the Bible, one of the first things you notice is that the Israelite army was “dismayed and terrified” of the giant (1 Samuel 17:11). Goliath started each day with taunts and ended each day with taunts. As time went by the Israelites felt more and more discouraged. They’d lost the fight, and they hadn’t even gone to battle yet.

Fear grabs us whenever we believe something bad is going to happen, and we can’t do anything to stop it. Fear can taunt us, paralyze us, and control us. 

This is basically the definition of fear—the belief that something is out there that is going to get you that you can’t do anything to stop. And fear doesn’t always look like fear. Sometimes fear shows up as anxiety, or worry, or nervousness, or stress, or dread, or stomachaches. 

Sometimes you are afraid because you’ve been trained to be fearful. It’s one thing to be careful—being careful helps us stay safe. But sometimes we act like life is one big threat that never goes away. If this sound like you, you will need to untrain yourself by trusting God and remembering He is bigger and stronger than anything you are afraid of.

Maybe you are afraid because you are hiding something. Maybe you made a mistake and don’t want others to find out. Or perhaps you don’t want to be seen as anything less than perfect, so you stuff all those horrible feelings of shame and embarrassment and perfectionism deep down inside. And these feelings make you anxious and scared. Instead of hiding those mistakes and sins, pray and share them with someone you trust (parent, grandparent, or even a school counselor), and then fear will no longer control you.

Some fear comes because you can’t control everything. Some people want to control all the parts of their lives—grades, sports, friends, and family. But there is so much you can’t control—especially how other people act. But what in your life have you ever really controlled?

But you don’t have to put up with the giant of fear. Take your fears to Jesus. Tell Him all about it. Then turn to the Bible and look at all the times God rescued his people when they were afraid. For example, read about when He saved Daniel in the lions’ den (Daniel 6), or when God rescued Peter from that prison cell (Acts 12:5-17). Talking to God and trusting His goodness takes away the giant’s power.