All of us face challenges in life.  Some are big, some small, others are ginormous.  As we face today’s challenges it is helpful to remember what the Lord has done to bring us through in the past.

In 1 Samuel 17, we read the famous story about David facing Goliath.  Much is made about David’s youth and Goliath’s size.  But as I read the story recently, instead of thinking about youth and size, I thought about how God prepared David for this challenge.  Not just to face the challenge, but to be victorious.

Boldness vs. Fear

“And David said to Saul, ‘Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.’” 1 Samuel 17:32-33, ESV

Young David is boldly proclaiming victory while King Saul is quivering in his tent, hiding from facing the enemy.  Not only is Saul hiding, he is telling David what he can’t do.  If I had a dollar for every time that someone told me what I couldn’t do, I’d be a lot richer.  Naysayers are a dime a dozen.  

We have enough of our own fear to battle that we don’t need others piling on the negative.  It’s easy to let the fear of other people sway us away from stepping out in faith.  It’s important to make sure that we are looking at the situation from the right perspective.  Saul was looking at a giant and a kid.  David was looking at Almighty God.  What a different perspective!

For better or worse, my personality is one that takes naysayer’s comments as fuel to achieve.  I’m either foolish enough (have certainly been in the past) to believe I can do amazing things, or I have enough faith to boldly step out and try what God is putting in front of me; believing that He will take me through it.  The key for success is that my boldness needs to be in the Lord, not myself.

Yesterday’s Challenges

“But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.’”  1 Samuel 17:34-35, ESV

We can look at these verses as David bragging about his accomplishments.  I don’t think he was bragging, I think he was remembering and reminding himself, as well as Saul, of the things that the Lord had already done through him.  Like David, we need to remember the challenges of yesterday and recount how the Lord brought us through them.

We were victorious in some of yesterday’s challenges while others ended in defeat and sorrow.  Either way, remember the past.  There is a saying that those who forget history are bound to repeat it.  Failure is an amazing teacher; so are the Lord’s victories.

There are events in my past that I still do not understand how the Lord was working, or how He is going to use that for good.  There are other past challenges in which I have been able to see His mighty hand.  These enable me to believe that He is able to, and will, work all things together for good (see Romans 8:28).  This verse doesn’t say that all things are good.  It gives us hope that, even in the terrible trials of life, He is working for good.  Even in those times that I don’t see it yet, I believe He is working for good.

Throughout the Bible there are times where people set up altars and monuments, or retold stories of God.  Do you have your “stones of remembrance” written out and saved?  Going back and reading my God stories helps me to face today’s challenges.

The Lord Makes the Difference

“‘Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.’  And David said, ‘The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’”  1 Samuel 17:36-37, ESV

David’s boldness was not based on his slingshot, skills, or abilities.  He boasted of the Lord’s work of deliverance.  Now that is a powerful foundation for facing our challenges.

Everytime I meet with a client for counseling, my prayer is, “Lord, I need you to be the Counselor and speak through my voice.”  When I stand in the pulpit or lectern before a group of people to teach, my prayer is, “Lord, let Your words come out of my mouth, and silence any thought or word that is of me.”  When I’m asked to pray a blessing, or over someone through altar ministry, my prayer is, “Lord, let Your words come forth.”  He has been amazingly faithful to answer these prayers.  

We need to be willing to surrender our thoughts and desires so that the Lord can work through us.  He is the Master; I am the tool.  Just like my tools don’t tell me what I’m going to build or fix with them, we shouldn’t be telling God what and how He is to work through us.  When we are fully surrendered, there is no limit to what the Lord can do.

A powerful lesson that I learned a while back is that we don’t fight for victory, rather we fight from a place of victory.  Jesus has already paid the price, defeated the enemy, and won the war.  The victory is secured.  We are still in a battle until Jesus comes back, but we have an assurance of victory.  This perspective shift gives me the boldness to proclaim with David, “The Lord who delivered me in the past will deliver me today.”

Are you willing to join me in surrendering your life to the Lord?  Once surrendered, will you go out in His boldness wherever and however He directs?  I say, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”