David & Goliath

As the young shepherd boy David prepared for battle, the men of Israel laughed and did not know whom they had in their midst. They did not know they had a person whom God had chosen to fight for Him. As he prepared for battle, David went and chose five smooth stones to fight the enemy giant Goliath. David was certain of his victory and went into the battle confident. But the enemy laughed and ridiculed David until David struck him in the forehead defeating his superior opponent. So the same thing happens in modern day where the world itself is the Goliath and we are the young shepherd who opposes it. As David went and chose five smooth stones, which he probably chose carefully, he looked for the five perfect stones to defeat him. The Goliath we face in this world is the inner war, the spiritual battle, over the battlefield of the mind. When we fight against this enemy we must also go to the stream, which is the Holy Spirit, and chose our five smooth stone to fight our Goliath.

Stone one. The most important stone in our arsenal is a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This particular stone is essential to a Christian’s life and puts us at better odds against the world than those who do not know who Christ is. Spending time with Christ daily strengthens us and prepares us for all that comes in our way. As it is written in the Paul’s letter to the Romans, “If God is for us, who can be against us (8:31)? There is nothing that the enemy can do to us that we cannot withstand as long as we stay close to our Lord.

Stone two. The second stone is knowledge. To know and understand how to fight this war and how to defeat your enemy is a key to survival. Every army has its own strategy and tactics. The scriptures are full of strategy to winning the spiritual war. People have to close their hearts to not see God’s hand in everything. Ignorance of God and ignorance of the enemy is literally fatal. Hosea sums this up perfectly in chapter 4:6, it states: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” We must rely on God to survive even one day against the enemy.

Stone three. The third stone is prayer. Spending time in prayer everyday sharpens your heart to prepare for the onslaught of the enemy. James 5:16 says, “Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons that God has given us. In Exodus 32 Moses even changes the mind of God with prayer. How powerful is prayer that we can even turn the wrath of God?

Stone four. The fourth stone is scripture. Reading, studying and meditating on the word of God daily is an essential in spiritual warfare. Knowing scripture and living the words of God helps one to better fend off the enemy. It is not all one needs but it should be a large part of a Christian’s life. A good example is Ephesians 6 where Paul speaks about the full armor of God, he says we must put on “ the gospel of peace upon our feet” so as to be able to stand firm with God.

Stone five. The fifth stone is the Church. This is the ultimate army that Christ Himself formed. Together we are united to fight against the enemy. Goliath comes at us everyday ridiculing, laughing and trying to instill fear in the hearts of all Christians. Without the people the building is an empty shell, without Christ we are just an empty shell. The church is there to unify and help us stay on the right road. When the Holy Spirit dwells with in us we can accomplish anything. It is written, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20.) When the Holy Spirit dwells within the Church, you have an army for God.

When the five smooth stones were gathered, David had the faith and courage to oppose a giant. He went with the Lord his God and he went to oppose the man who mocked the God of his salvation. We to must stand up against the giant and oppose him that defies the elect of God. If the young shepherd boy had enough courage, so we to that know that Christ died and rose again should prepare to part the Red Sea and take the leap of faith to trust Him.