Killing the 'giants' of life

Recently I came across a list identifying 530 phobias. The word ‘phobia’ comes from a Greek word for fear and refers to a panic that is disproportionate to the threat. The list included things you might expect. Number 7 was Nyctophobia (fear of the dark); #6 was Acrophobia (fear of heights); #5 was Claustrophobia (fear of being trapped in small spaces) and the #1 phobia was Arachnophobia (fear of spiders). As a Baptist preacher I found two fears on the list particularly interesting: Ecclesiophobia or the fear of church, and Homilophobia or the fear of sermons (so that’s why our missing members aren’t coming). 

In 1 Samuel 17 Israel was dealing with a phobia of their own often referred to as “fee-fi-phobia” or the fear of giants. Day after day a Philistine giant standing 9 feet tall named Goliath stood and verbally abused Israel’s soldiers, challenging them to a ‘winner takes all’ fight. His challenge went unanswered until David showed up to check on his brothers. In this passage we learn the principles of giant killing. Some of you have giants you are dealing with right now; giants of “you’re not good enough … you are losing your kids … you can’t stop looking at porn … you will never get past and can never be used because of some previous failure … your life is hopeless and a mistake.” Before I give you the principles to kill giants in your life, let me make a few broad statements about the ‘giants’ we face. They are always bigger than us, they tend to mock us in our thoughts, and they should turn us to the Lord.

Giant fighting requires three things.

1. You have to run toward the action – There never would have been victory if David hadn’t gone to the battle front. We cannot run from the issues we struggle with but instead must meet them head on. 
2. You have to identify the adversary – For success to happen you must call your giant by name (temper, lust, finances …). Admitting there is a problem is the first step in gaining victory over it. I'd suggest if you have more than one giant, always pick the biggest giant first. Once this giant falls, it becomes obvious that the other giants can fall as well.
   
   
3. Understand God’s authority – Before battle David tried to put on Saul’s armor but it didn’t fit. In your spiritual battles you cannot use someone else armor; the only way to put on the spiritual armor spelled out in Ephesians 6 is to spend time with the Lord yourself.

In 1 Samuel 17:49 David pulls a stone, loads his slingshot, and nails Goliath between the eyes. The huge giant falls but verse 51 states he was not dead yet. The same way that David “finished off Goliath” is how we will finish off the giants of our lives.

1. Remember the size of your God – We often talk about the size of our problems when we would do well to remember the size of our God. The God who parted the Red Sea, one day stopped the sun from setting, and raised Lazarus from the dead four days after his death, is the God you serve. 
2. Understand it is the ‘small’ victories that lead to ‘giant’ killings – Killing Goliath was not David’s first fight; he had previously fought a bear and a lion. Think of the steps necessary to achieve victory over your giant then begin one step at a time checking those steps off. Little victories for you might be paying one bill on time, or 24 hours without getting angry, or a week without gossiping. Killing giants is typically achieved through many small victories. 
3. Cut off the enemy’s head – Verse 51 says, “David … took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.” For you cutting off the enemy’s head might be cutting off bad habits; cutting off elicit relationships; cutting off evil speaking, slander, anger, and lying.  
4. Regardless of how old you get and how many victories you have won, don’t ever stop fighting - I want you to be able to say at the end of your life the words of the Apostle Paul, “… the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”