How To Get Rid Of The Giants In Your Life

Illus: This passage reminds me of the story of the little mother of seven children. She was leaving to go to a surprise party, and all seven of them wanted to go with her. One asked, "Mom, can we go with you?" She said, "No, it is a surprise party." One of the little ones asked, "Why don't you really make it a surprise party and take all seven of us with you?"

The life of David was full of surprises.

Let me give you a little background leading up to this historical event, so you can see what I am talking about.

In 1 Samuel 17 we are told...

• The army of the Philistines had gathered on a hillside

• The army of Israel had gathered on the opposite hillside

• As the men in these two large armies stood looking at each other, the nine-foot-tall giant, Goliath, stepped out

• Goliath had challenged the soldiers of Israel, saying, "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together" (17:10)

• David had come along to bring his brothers some food, and got involved in this

All of us can relate somewhat to the situation. That is, all of us have faced, or are facing, some big, ugly giant (or giants) in our lives, and they seem too big for us to handle.

But, there is hope if we will learn from this historical account of David, and do as he did.

Let's examine the FIRST SURPRISE.

I. THE SURPRISE OF THE FEARFUL

The reason we are surprised is because the army of Israel was filled with many BRAVE, TRAINED SOLDIERS! These were not an army of WIMPS. THEY WERE BRAVE SOLDIERS.

They had won battle after battle, but when they were confronted and challenged to match one man against the giant, every Israelite soldier was FEARFUL and wanted to FLEE.

Not only was Goliath a tall giant, but there were some others behind him, perhaps almost as tall as he was.

Two things about their situation are similar to things we face that can cause us to fear.

A. THE THINGS WE HEAR CAN CAUSE US TO FEAR

In verse 11 we read, "When Saul and all Israel HEARD THOSE WORDS of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid."

Things that we hear have a tremendous affect on us. Words have meaning, and they can be used to BUILD US UP, or TO TEAR US DOWN.

Illus: Spousal abuse is not necessarily THE PHYSICAL BEATING of the spouse. Many do this, and their wives literally LIVE IN FEAR. Generally men who do this have a very low self esteem, and they are afraid their wives will leave them. Their logic is, if they can prove, by beating them, that they are stronger, then they will be afraid to leave.

However, some men and some women would never physically abuse their spouses, but their fear causes them to frequently beat the other spouse WITH DESTRUCTIVE WORDS!

This causes the spouse to feel that she or he is not good enough for anyone else, so they are afraid to leave.

Illus: One very attractive couple got married. As the years went by, the wife did not weather the years as well as the husband did, and she was afraid he might leave her for another woman who looked as good as she used to look. She began to abuse her husband by making derogatory and degrading remarks about him IN PUBLIC and IN PRIVATE.

She did not even realize it, but she was trying to convince him that he was almost worthless, and he should consider himself fortunate that she would live with him. He told his pastor, "Nothing I do satisfies her."

And, like Job in the Old Testament, the thing she feared the most happened to her. He met a lady that used words to build him up, and he married her.

• Never UNDERESTIMATE the damage that words can do. They can permanently scar a MARRIAGE, or any kind of RELATIONSHIP!

• We also must NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF WORDS TO BUILD PEOPLE UP!

However, the words spoken to the army of Israel served their purpose.

THEY BROUGHT DISCOURAGEMENT AND FEAR.

Perhaps some of you have heard some startling words and they have shaken you. Perhaps some of you have heard...

• That you may be laid off from the job you have invested years of your life into, and planned to retire from

• Some bad news from the doctors, and you do not know what the end result will be.

• That your very best friends had some awful things to say about you, and now your heart is crushed

There are all kinds of things that we HEAR every day, and if we aren't careful, we will allow those things to BECOME NINE-FOOT GIANTS that will DISCOURAGE us, and BRING FEAR to us.