Friday, May 3, 2013
By: Rachelle Hitt Bilbo
Slaying Giants Devotion Series: Day 2
My God is BIGGER Than...
Proverbs 28:1 The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions.
David was not only motivated to fight a giant because of the promised rewards as described in 1 Samuel 17:26-27, he was also moved by "righteous indignation"- a response to an unjust, insulting, and irreverent attitude towards God.
When approaching the scene of this 9-foot-giant mocking the Israelites and God, David asks in 1 Samuel 17:26, "...WHO is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should DEFY the armies of the LIVING God?"
David spoke an abundance of powerful truth in that one question-truth that is essential to slaying ANY giant.
1. David recognized that his enemy was NOTHING compared to His God. He asked, "WHO is this uncircumcised Philistine..." I imagine him asking this with a seemingly prideful and condescending expression as to why everyone else was trembling in fear. David understood that his God was definitely BIGGER than this giant of a man!
2. David recognized the defiance of the giant against the Lord. In its original Hebrew translation, the word "defy" means to "taunt" or "blaspheme." David was appalled by the giant's attitude towards God and God's people and realized that what the giant was speaking was not THE truth because of the great plans that God has for all of His children. When there is an attack in those areas that do not line up with God's promises, it is important to identify the defiance of the "enemy."
3. David recognized that his God was alive and able to do great and mighty things. In David's question, he refers to God as the LIVING God. David was able to approach the "giant" in his life because he knew that his God was ALIVE. In 1 Samuel 17:47-48, David first of all declared that the "battle is the Lord's" and THEN ran "quickly" to meet his enemy. He put His trust in the capable hands of a God who was PRESENTLY watching over Him.
When we can grasp the BIGNESS of the God that motivated David to fight a giant, we too will be able to approach our problems with boldness rather than running FROM them.
I challenge you today, when looking at your problems, to realize that NOTHING is bigger than our God. When you have submitted your life to God and problems arise, you, too, can have complete confidence in the knowledge that the battle is the Lord's.....and that He is undefeated!
Dear Lord, I thank You that You are bigger than my enemy, You are always working on my behalf and You have great promises for my life!
I thank You, my Jesus, for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life.
