Five Lessons for Facing the Giants in Your Life
Part Two of a series on the life of David — The Woodlands First Baptist Church
If you and Dr. Bruce Webb were talking alone and he asked you what the big challenge in your life is right now, you would probably have an answer. It might be a marriage problem you cannot solve and the disappointment that goes with it. It might be grief from a miscarriage or the loss of someone you love, and you are having a very hard time moving forward. It might be a health challenge bigger than you can handle, or a job situation you are at a loss to resolve. The specifics differ, but all of us are facing some kind of giant.
Continuing the series on the life of David at The Woodlands First Baptist Church in The Woodlands, TX, Dr. Webb turned to the most famous chapter in David’s story: 1 Samuel 17. During the message he shared video he personally filmed at the Valley of Elah, where the battle actually took place. The story of David and Goliath is a great one for children; however, it is far more than that. It is a very adult story about the role of faith in defeating the giants that threaten us. Read with fresh eyes, it yields five lessons.
The Valley of Elah and the Giant of Gath
The Philistines camped on the edge of the Valley of Elah at a place called Ephes Dammim, which means boundary of blood, likely a site of frequent conflict between Israel and the Philistines. Most scholars identify the Philistines as sea peoples who came from the Aegean region of Greece, Crete, and Turkey. They occupied the coastal cities in what is now the Gaza Strip; however, it is historically incorrect to identify them with modern Palestinians. They were a genetically distinct people, and Philistine culture disappeared by the fifth century BC for the same reason many ancient peoples vanished: the whole region was conquered by the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, then the Persians. That is why the Ammonites, Hittites, Moabites, and Jebusites exist only in historical accounts today.
The culture of Israel, by contrast, survived. A remnant of its people maintained their commitment to family worship and Scripture, and wherever they were scattered they continued teaching their children God’s Word. Their culture endures to this day, and we benefit directly from that faithfulness, because from it came the Christian faith. If you need a reason to make church a priority and to teach your children God’s Word, there it is. God blesses people, wherever they live, who honor his Word.
Into this valley, every morning and evening for forty days, came Goliath. According to the text he stood over nine feet tall. If he played basketball, he would obviously be the center, and standing under the basket his head would be in the net. His coat of armor weighed 125 pounds, and the tip of his spear alone weighed fifteen. In other words, he was not just tall; he was massive. In football terms, he would be the nose guard. Our giants may look different from Goliath of Gath, but they are often no less imposing, and as Israel discovered, avoidance is not a real option when the obstacle shows up every single day.
Lesson One: Let Faith in God Drive Your Life Rather Than Fear
When Goliath shouted his challenge and defied the armies of Israel, verse 11 records the result: “Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.” Reading that, Dr. Webb notes, it is hard not to think of how often Jesus told his followers not to be afraid, somewhere between twenty and twenty-five times in the Gospels.
Fear is such a powerful weapon because it defeats and debilitates us without a battle ever being fought. Victories God would give us go unrealized because fear wins over faith. One of the most common regrets people express near the end of life is that, given the chance to do it over, they would risk more, trust God more, and attempt more. The reason is that fear causes us to freeze exactly when we should have faith and obey.
Why do we decline the call to ministry? Why do we not teach the Bible study class, change jobs to find fulfillment, go back to school, or try the new idea? Many times the honest answer is fear, and Dr. Webb is candid about understanding it personally. Nobody likes to fail, and some past failures never stop stinging. In fact, past failure is itself one of the giants we have to confront, because it can paralyze us for years.
For forty days, an entire army of capable men chose fear. The story turns only when someone shows up whose faith is bigger than his fright.
Lesson Two: Spend Time Alone With God So You Can Hear His Voice Above Others
Senior Pastor Dr. Bruce Webb continues the series on the life of David, sharing five lessons from 1 Samuel 17 for facing the giants that threaten us, along with video from his own visit to the Valley of Elah.
When David arrived at the camp delivering bread and cheese from his father Jesse, he heard Goliath’s defiance personally for the first time and could not contain himself: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” The reaction he received was not encouragement. It was friendly fire.
His oldest brother Eliab burned with anger and accused him of conceit and wickedness, prompting David to repeat a line uttered by little brothers since the creation of little brothers: “Now what have I done? Can’t I even speak?” Dr. Webb, the youngest sibling in his own family, acknowledges that younger brothers can certainly be pests. However, the deeper reason for Eliab’s anger was that David was right about Israel being disgraced, and Eliab had done nothing about it because he was afraid. It is human nature for those who could fight the giant but will not to be offended by someone who will. It is human nature to criticize the person doing what you should be doing but are not.
Obstacles tend to get bigger the closer we get to them, partly because we are rarely ready for the criticism, discouragement, and sarcasm that come from the very people who are supposed to be helping us. What kept David from being derailed? His history alone with God. His first conversation with God was not on a battlefield; it was in a pasture protecting sheep. His first battle was not with a giant but with a lion and a bear, and God had proved faithful. Through long, quiet nights alone, God had been telling David who he was and showing him what he could do. Consequently, when Eliab dismissed him and King Saul told him he could not win, David respectfully, logically, and persistently explained why he could. That kind of steadiness is built before the battle, which is why spending regular time alone with God matters so much before the giant ever shows up.
A Word About Rewards
One detail in the text deserves honest treatment. The Israelites told David that the king would give great wealth, his daughter in marriage, and a lifetime tax exemption to whoever killed Goliath, and David asked about those rewards directly. Many of us instinctively disapprove of faithfulness motivated by reward. Dr. Webb admits he skipped a planned message on rewards and treasures during the recent heaven series, partly because it risked being mistaken for prosperity gospel teaching. Yet Scripture repeatedly says God rewards faithfulness. Hebrews 11:6 states that without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Jesus himself said to store up treasures in heaven. The teaching is tremendously important to people suffering for their faith, even though it is sometimes misused by people living in affluence who simply want more. David was interested in the reward; nevertheless, as the story makes clear, he was motivated most by Goliath’s defiance of God and the disgrace it brought on God’s people.
Lesson Three: Trust the Gifts God Has Given You
Before the battle, Saul dressed David in his own tunic, armor, and bronze helmet. David tried walking around and could not do it. “I cannot go in these,” he said, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off, picked up his staff, chose five smooth stones from the stream, and approached the Philistine with his sling.
We are often tempted to imitate what others have done instead of trusting the gifts God has given us, and those who are older are usually happy to keep telling those who are younger how to do it, even when they are no longer doing it themselves. Saul had forty days to fight Goliath and would not; however, he did not hesitate to tell David what armor he needed. His intentions were good. The armor had served him well in the past, and David could learn much from him. But Saul’s armor did not fit David, and David needed to trust what God had placed in his own hands.
When God leads you to do something, have the courage to use the slingshot and the stones from the brook in your own backyard. It takes real courage to be the person God made you to be, because in David’s case it looked ludicrous to Saul, to the soldiers, and to the giant himself. Yet the sling was David’s weapon, lethal in his hands, a skill developed over years that God had already used against the lion and the bear. God does something original through people who trust the gifts he gave them.
Lesson Four: Adjust Your Life So You Are on God’s Side
There is a small detail in the text that is easy to miss: Goliath’s shield bearer, mentioned twice, in verses 7 and 41. A shield bearer fought alongside an important soldier and signaled status. His presence means that when David faced Goliath, it was two against one, humanly speaking. It may also reveal Goliath’s contempt and overconfidence; he was so certain no one would fight him that he did not even carry his own shield.
Whatever the shield bearer’s role, the contrast is the message of the text: Goliath did not come down into the valley alone, while neither the king, nor David’s brothers, nor a single Israelite soldier went with David. Where did he find the courage? The same place he found it as a shepherd. Looking back on his life, David wrote in Psalm 28:7: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.” After a great victory years later he cried out in 2 Samuel 22: “My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation.” David had no shield bearer, but he had something far better. He had God himself leading the battle as his shield. As Paul would write centuries later: if God is for us, who can be against us?
The problem for many of us is that we try to fight Goliath with only a slingshot and a stone. David did not. He had adjusted his life so that he was on God’s side, and therefore the victory belonged to the Lord. His own words to the giant in verses 45 through 47 make it unmistakable: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s.”
Lesson Five: Act Decisively by Obeying Him
Verse 48 contains one of the most remarkable sentences in the story: “As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.” David ran at the giant. Goliath and his shield bearer must have thought the kid was crazy. Then David reached into his bag, slung a single stone, and struck the Philistine on the forehead. Goliath fell facedown, defeated without David ever holding a sword.
It is not enough to hear what God is saying. It takes no real courage to know what should be done, or even to criticize those who are not doing it. Notice what David did not do. He did not criticize King Saul for refusing to fight. He did not resent the offer of armor. He did not ask Saul to buy him a better sling or supply the stones, and he did not ask Eliab to fight the battle for him. The person God uses to defeat a giant is the one who listens, knows what God wants done, and then has the courage to do it regardless of what anyone else does.
It is entirely possible Eliab could have had the same victory. So could King Saul, or any Israelite soldier who listened to God and acted. Here is the detail that unlocks the whole chapter: God is not even mentioned in the story until verse 26, more than halfway through, after young David arrives. From that point on, God is the leading character. Goliath is not so insurmountable when God is part of the story. The key to defeating the giant was never the greatness of David. It was the greatness of God.
Is God the Leading Character in Your Story?
Is God the theme of your story, with you in the supporting role? If he is not, that is not unusual; however, do not expect to defeat any real giants. Giant killers are those who do the will of God, and the pattern from 1 Samuel 17 is clear. Let faith in God drive your life rather than fear. Spend time alone with him so you can hear his voice above the others, which might mean taking a break from social media long enough to listen. Trust the gifts God has given you so he can do something original through you. Adjust your life so you are on God’s side. Then act decisively by obeying him.
When you do, there is no giant big enough to defeat you.
If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, or you do not have a church home, the invitation from this message is simple: let God become the theme of your story. And if you are searching for a church near me in The Woodlands, TX where Scripture is taught with depth and honesty, we would love for you to join us at The Woodlands First Baptist Church as the series on the life of David continues.
Learn More about The Woodlands First
► Watch the full sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJPAlou30rY
► Plan your visit this Sunday: https://thewoodlandsfirst.org/new/
► Learn about our church: https://thewoodlandsfirst.org/beliefs/
► First Kids (Children’s Ministry): https://thewoodlandsfirst.org/ministries/first-kids/
Visit The Woodlands First Baptist Church
We offer worship services in traditional, modern, and Spanish-language styles across two campuses in The Woodlands, TX, along with Bible study classes and small groups for all ages.
South Campus — 11801 Grogan’s Mill Rd, The Woodlands, TX 77380
North Campus — 5148 FM 1488, The Woodlands, TX 77354
Phone: (281) 367-4317
Website: thewoodlandsfirst.org
Looking for churches near me in The Woodlands, TX? The Woodlands First Baptist Church has served this community since 1979. Come discover a community that takes Scripture seriously and welcomes everyone who is searching.
