Bible Reflections From Scripture Union Volume OneSample

A Giant of a Problem
Read 1 Samuel 17:1-54

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 1 Samuel 17:45

Some problems are of our own making. They may be difficult to solve but at least we know what our mistakes are and can try and rectify them. However, there are other problems that hit us from out of the blue. These become a giant hindrances to our progress.

In the case of the Israelites, their problem was an actual giant (v 4). He was Goliath, the champion of the Philistines. War with the Philistines was an ongoing affair but this time the Philistines had the ultimate weapon in Goliath. They were confident that they could enslave Israel with zero casualties on their side. It was a nightmare for Saul and all Israel (v 11). In their fear, they forgot God. David, however, was neither afraid nor did he forget that only God has the perfect solution to all problems. He was certain that God was going to to use him and refused to allow the hurtful words of his jealous brother to either dampen his spirit or distract him (vs 28-30).

With God’s help and sling in hand, David had overcome the problem of the lion and the bear (vs 34-37). No fancy weapon was needed to overcome the problem of the giant (vs 38-39). First he made that loud and clear to Goliath and all present. Then, with full confidence in God, he struck Goliath with his stone and brought him crashing down (v 49)

When God is the centre of our focus we will be able to overcome our fears and see our problems in the right perspective.

If you had the opportunity to encourage someone to put their trust in God to overcome some problem, what testimony from your own life would you share to urge the person to do so?