Conquering Your Giant.

Hello! Hope you all are having a great week so far. Things have been pretty relaxed around here, which is always nice. It has been really hot though, and is supposed to be over 100 tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll survive the heat wave! My Michigan body still isn’t used to this Texas summer weather – craziness I tell you!

This morning I was reading about David and Goliath, a story that I’ve read countless times, and for some reason it really stood out to me today as being extra important. I was literally sitting on the couch with Mr. Samson, wondering what I should read for my devotions, and I opened my Bible right to the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel. Kind of like God was prompting me to read it. I love it when that happens.

Anyways, so I read the story, and if you didn’t know, David [small, insignificant shepherd boy] ends up defeating Goliath [powerful, strong giant] armed with only a slingshot, smooth small stones, and the power of God. No one thought it would be even remotely possible for David to defeat Goliath, but David knew better. He didn’t see Goliath as a giant problem in his path, but as an obstacle to overcome through the power and strength of God. He knew that all things were possible through God’s strength in him, and he wasn’t afraid when he faced Goliath. He was confident in the power of God working in and through him.

In the past when I’ve read this story I always thought it was a good one – I mean, we all like a good underdog story, right? But this time, I read it in a different light. I thought about the things in my life that might be considered ‘Goliaths’ and how I have been going about overcoming them. There are a few things, well, I might as well be honest and just say that there is one thing in particular – my book – that I’ve been working on for what seems like ages, and never feels completed. I’ve worked on it for countless hours, edited it multiple times, and yet it still just doesn’t feel right. So, after the last frustrating round of editing, I decided to ‘shelf it’ in a sense, and really haven’t worked on it for over a month now. The task of completing it seems so daunting that I don’t even want to look at it. Literally. I carry around a hard copy of it in my bag everywhere I go, and yet I haven’t been able to bring myself to crack it open and get to work.

I tell myself things like, “the timing isn’t quite right,” or “wait until things settle down a little bit and the situation is better.” But you know what? The timing will never be perfect, and the situation will never be completely ideal. Why? Because perfect situation don’t exist!

But maybe, just maybe, my unfinished manuscript is a bit like the giant Goliath, and I am, in fact, a little like David – armed with a large bottle of white out and an extra sharp pencil instead of a slingshot and some stones. Maybe instead of waiting for the opportune time, I need to just buckle down, stop being so afraid, and just do it already. I mean David wasn’t given the most opportune timing either. He had a whole army of people behind him thinking he would fail, and a giant in front of him, just waiting for him to try and back down. He had to trust in God, and that faith is what got him through.

So, maybe I just need to reevaluate my situation. Instead of trying to avoid the giant [manuscript] in my path, maybe I should rely on the promise that I can do anything through him [God] who gives me strength. And through his power, and lots of white out, I will overcome the Goliath in my path.

What about you? Is there a Goliath in your life, big or small, that needs to be overcome? Choose to trust in God, and rely on the promise that through Him, you can do ALL things.