We have been talking a lot about spiritual warfare, and today we are going to talk about one of the best examples of spiritual warfare in the Bible- the story of David and Goliath!
I know what you are thinking- this is actual warfare isn't it? Didn't David kill the giant with a slingshot? Nothing spiritual about that... Well let's look closer at the story. To read the story yourself click here.
Much like we talked about the devil using lies to render us paralyzed with fear- Goliath used his words to get in the minds of the Israelite army and intimidate and confuse them. Not one soldier from the Hebrew camp was willing to stand up to the giant. The whole army was paralyzed for 40 days!! Goliaths size was definitely intimidating, but what was the root cause of the fear here? Rick Renner says, "The constant threats and mental bombardment that Goliath hit them with every single day. This mental harassment crippled the Hebrew soldiers so that they lost sight of the awesome ability of God." To put it short- the Israelites saw the Philistines with a giant, and forgot the massive power of God was on their side.
While all this is happening, the "hero" of the story, David, is just out working with the sheep. When he comes to the army camp to bring his brothers food, he hears the taunts of the giant, calling out the Israelites and notices that no one is willing to fight. Hearing the words, David was annoyed at the arrogance of the giant! How dare he insult God's people! He says in verse 26, "who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" David's brother reprimands his boldness, but this boldness was rooted in arrogance or cockiness. This was a boldness inspired by the Holy Spirit to David, who was surrendered to no one but God.
After still no one would fight. David searched the camp found no one who would stand up to the giant, so he volunteered! King Saul admired the courage of the boy, but Saul says, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.” Against all the skills of an intimidating warrior, David said that he could do this, as he has faced many animals that threatened his flock of sheep using a simple slingshot, not letting the animals get away with harming his flock.
Saul eventually agreed to let him fight Goliath. If David lost, the Israelite people would become slaves to the Philistines. Everything hinged on this.
The battle time arrived, and when Goliath saw David, a puny little teenage boy, He was shocked and began to mock both David and his God! Any normal kid would have ran away at that point, leaving a trail of liquid behind, but David was empowered with a boldness from God, and knew that God was in his corner and he could not lose.
David said to the Philistine: “You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies—you have defied Him. Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.”
David proceed to nail Goliath in the head with a rock, and then use Goliath's own sword to cut off his head! This is definitely a gory scene! God handed Goliath over to David, and is the TRUE Hero of the story! The Israelite army had been deceived and had forgotten that the one true GOD was on their side! Don't let yourself be deceived and forget you too have supernatural power!
How about you? Are you tired of the giants taunting you? Are you tired of being mentally harassed and emotionally tormented by the lying insinuations and slanderous accusations of the adversary? This is why we put on the full armor of God, understanding that the natural weapons won't help us against our spiritual enemies!
The Israelites minds were attacked and they became paralyzed, but all it took was a boy willing to trust in the power of the Living God to claim the victory! Let us be so bold! Let us remember that the battle is in our minds and God is in our corner, wherever we find ourselves! We will be bold and fight the supernatural fight in Nuevo Laredo in just a few short weeks! Some will say we are cocky going into a border town in Mexico, but we just know that God has our backs and will provide protection every step of the way!
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