Five keys to defeating giants in your life

“The secret of my success is that at an early age I discovered I was not God.” So replied Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. to a young reporter’s question on the occasion of the esteemed Supreme Court Justice’s 90th birthday (1831). His quote gives more theological truth than even he might have intended. True success in this world is rooted first in the premise that God is in control — and I am not.

David was a man “after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). 1 Samuel powerfully presents the contrast between King Saul’s tragic fall and David’s life of victory. True success is defined by character, forged — even in the fires of failure — by a sincere, obedient and abiding faith in the one true God. David faced many giants in his life but none were greater than Goliath. Goliath stood 9 feet, 9 inches tall. He wore a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds. He carried a spear that weighed 15 pounds (1 Samuel 17:4-5). The giant gave his challenge, not just once, but twice a day for 40 days (1 Samuel 17:16). Day after day no one in the Israelite army responded.

The Goliaths in our lives attack us daily and relentlessly. Whether people, pressures, worries or fears, they consistently yell across our personal valleys a challenge that rattles the very foundations of our hearts. God will be faithful to deliver us. What are the keys to defeating the giants in our lives? 1 Samuel 16 and 17 reveals five keys in David’s life to defeating the giants you face today.

• The first key is that God chose David (16:1-13). David was the youngest of eight sons. He was so insignificant in the family that his father didn’t even invite him to meet the prophet Samuel. David was a lowly shepherd but God had selected him. Verse 13 reads, “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” In biblical imagery, oil often symbolizes the Holy Spirit and God’s power upon his servants (Zechariah 4). The Spirit of God came upon David and ever after that he was God’s man.

If you are a believer in Jesus, God has chosen you. The Holy Spirit empowers you. God’s presence goes with you. You can be confident that God’s hand is upon you. Who initiated this great victory? God did.

• The second key is that God prepared David (16:14-23). David knew the Lord had been present at his conception and had arranged even his genetic structure (Psalm 139:13-16). He ordained that David would be strong and handsome, that he would possess musical talent and that he would be prudent and brave. Just as Paul was a vessel prepared by God for a specific work (Galatians 1:15, Acts 9:15), so David was God’s prepared servant to accomplish his purposes for his people.

God knits together the events of your life. Even the steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord. The key to David’s success in life is stated in 1 Samuel 16:18, “The Lord was with him.” This was also the secret of the success of Joseph (Genesis 39:2-3, 21, 23), Joshua (Joshua 6:27) and Samuel (1 Samuel 3:19). It is the basis for success in the Christian life today. Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

• The third key is that God guided David (17:1-27). Others came and went as they pleased but David was led by the providential hand of God. David didn’t remain in Saul’s camp permanently but went back and forth between the camp and home as he was needed (verse 15). Whenever he was called to help Saul, he left his flock with a dependable man (verse 20) and hurried to the camp where he even had his own tent (verse 54). David was in the right place at the right time.

• The fourth key is that God encouraged David (17:28-39). Whenever you step out by faith to fight the enemy, there’s always somebody around to discourage you. Often it begins in your own home. David’s older brother became very angry and said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?

I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle” (verse 28). Even King Saul tried to discourage David. “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth” (verse 33).

God encouraged David. He knew the Lord could turn weakness into power. While caring for the sheep, David had killed a lion and a bear. He knew the Lord could defeat Goliath. David’s encouragement came from God and this is one of the secrets of life. “But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). God will encourage you today through the Scriptures.

• The fifth key is that God enabled David (17:40-58). Hudson Taylor said, “All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they reckoned on his being with them. I am the very little servant of an illustrious master.” David did what he did for the glory of God.

The very weapon that David used — a sling — was a shepherd’s weapon. It was almost the toy of a child and yet God used it to defeat the giant and rout the Philistine army. When Goliath saw a lad coming with a sling in one hand and a staff in the other he said, “Am I a dog that you come at me with a stick?” (verse 43) David announced that the real power was in the Lord himself whom Goliath had insulted.

God chose. God prepared. God guided. God encouraged. God enabled. David realized that it wasn’t simply a physical conflict between two armies but a spiritual battle between truth and error, faith and superstition, the true and living God and dead idols. David’s faith lifted the war to a much higher plane. Won’t you focus upon Jesus today and defeat the giants in your life?

Ethan Hansen is pastor at Faith Bible Fellowship in Big Lake. He can be reached at ethanchansen@gci.net.