Killing the Giants

Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, Whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and cut off your head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. -1 Samuel 17:45-46

This passage of Scripture is from the well-known story of David and Goliath. I was just reading a bit from the introduction to "The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word" (Joyce Meyer), and she says that in this story, David speaks what isn't (yet) as though it were (already), (This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and cut off your head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth) and through doing nothing more than speaking in faith and acting on his words, he was given the victory over a situation that seemed hopeless.

I was thinking about this story and how it might relate to this day and age. We don't exactly have large men that spew out blasphemies against God and threaten to squash us like little bugs these days.

But we do have other crap that happens in our lives. There's war and disease and famine and economic hardships. Sometimes we might lose our job or a loved one might die. We might experience extreme hardships. These things are our modern-day Giants.

God, by nature, is a positive being. He does not sit up there, speaking curses over us. He created mankind to bring Him glory and honor, and how can we bring Him glory and honor if we're living as if we're cursed by God. It follows that most of the hardships we endure PROBABLY aren't placed upon us by God. Some of them might be -- those are to test us and to sanctify us and to purify our faith.

But a lot of times, Satan is the one responsible. Satan is doing his best to blaspheme God by cursing His most prized creations. Satan attacks us and then whines at us, "Where is your God NOW?" He curses us and then he mocks us with the intention of destroying our faith.

How exactly do we deal with these things? I think David's words are an absolutely beautiful answer to that. I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, Whom you have defied. David recognizes that the battle has nothing to do with HIM. This battle is between God and Goliath (Satan). David is merely the human body that acts out the will of God. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand. He knows that he has nothing to fear, because God can not be defeated. ....That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. He knows that God will win, and he knows that because of that victory, all people will KNOW that the God of Israel is truly God.

It wasn't so much about David knowing what would happen. He probably didn't -- REALLY -- know. All he knew was God. He knew God's character. He knew God's heart. He knew God's protection and provision. And David, knowing the truth about Who God is, could go against this huge, angry man, and declare with confidence that This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and cut off your head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth.

When we know God's character, we can speak the things that aren't (yet) as though they are (already) (Romans 4:17). We can expect to be victorious. We can experience amazing things if we get to know who God really is and then begin to speak the things that we know to be true.
Love,
~MJ
PS TWO MONTHS until Graduation and my birthday!