1 Samuel 17:8
And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
Goliath used the same scare tactics against Israel that Satan often uses against God’s people. Goliath used his size to intimidate the faith of God’s people, and it worked with almost everyone but David. Certainly, Goliath was a huge man and was a Philistine like every other Philistine in the Philistine army. Yes, he was to be reckoned with like all the other Philistines if they were to win this great battle. However, his scare tactics should not have been heeded because the God who was with Israel was far more powerful than Goliath.
David recognized these scare tactics against faith, and he would not let them shake his faith. David remembered the lion and the bear from the past, and he knew that God’s power and faithfulness had not changed. He knew that the God who delivered him in the past would deliver him in the present if he acted on faith like he did in the past. It mattered not how big Goliath was or the intimidation tactics that he used to try to scare David; David would have nothing to do with these intimidation efforts because he believed His God was very capable of helping him defeat Goliath.
Everyone who is saved has acted on faith. It took faith for you to get saved, and the God that honored your faith to save you is very able to honor your faith that challenges you to attempt something great for Him. You have likely attempted something by faith since you were saved, and God honored that faith when you stepped out on it. For instance, if you are a tithing believer, you stepped out by faith the first time you tithed. Let me ask: did God provide your needs when you first started tithing, and has He honored your faith to continue to tithe since that first tithe? The God who has honored your faith in whatever you have done in the past is very capable of honoring whatever faith you are stepping out on today.
Here is the common problem many face today: we have seen God do great works because of our faith in the past, but a giant comes along that seems greater than what our faith was in the past. This giant that we face today seems bigger, and this giant is a reality. It is not that you are imagining this giant because you see it every day. Often, when we face a new giant, we find ourselves fearing it and stepping back to hide from it, or we find ourselves worrying about the giant because we face its effects every day.
My friend, never let the intimidation efforts of giants you face stop you from attempting great works of faith for God. These intimidation efforts are Satan’s scare tactics that he uses to get you to stop trusting God so that you will stop living by faith. Always remember that the moment you stop living by faith is the moment you stop trusting God.
The best way to face the intimidation efforts that Satan uses to get you to fear is to go forward and face that giant head-on. Until you get past the giant that you face today, you will stay right where you are at the moment. God knows that giant is there screaming his intimidating scare tactics, but God is hoping you will trust Him enough to continue walking by faith so that He can show His mighty power through you to defeat that giant. Don't let the giants stop you; let them motivate you to continue by faith.
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