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It doesn’t matter the size of a problem. God’s power and might are always greater.
The big idea of this book isn’t about us trying harder or rolling up our sleeves
and working to improve our lives through our effort. The message of this book is that God extends his grace and favor toward us to allow us to experience his supernatural power. It’s about us agreeing with him and letting his Holy Spirit work in our lives to put us on right paths, right ways of thinking and living.
Jesus is David in the story of David and Goliath. Jesus is the giant killer. Does that fact not wake us all up? Hello? We are not David. You are not David. I am not David. Jesus is David! Jesus fights the battles for us. Jesus stares down the face of impossible odds. Jesus takes up his sling. Jesus selects five smooth stones. Jesus takes aim at the giant. The giant falls because of the work of Jesus.
the whole of Scripture points not to our abilities, but to Jesus as the Savior of the world. On every page, and in every story, Jesus can be seen—victorious, steadfast, able, trustworthy, mighty, loving, worthy.
God wanted victory to come simply because one young man trusted in him.
Worship is simply a shift of attention that allows us to see God better. Worship is like corrective lenses for our souls, bringing God clearer into view. That’s important for all of us, especially when life goes off the rails. Worship puts God in focus. When the Almighty is in view, our giant’s power over our thinking begins to flicker and fade.
I need someone bigger than my giant to set my gaze on. Otherwise, I listen needlessly to a dead Goliath when the Maker of heaven is holding me in his hands.
But it’s still a fight, because even dead giants can still call your name.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3).
God has given us everything we need for
our spiritual life. All joy. All value. All purpose. All hope. All comfort. All power to resist temptation. All power to change. All ability to live lives of godliness. All guidance and marked pathways to live for him.
Paul wasn’t doing “all things” because of Christ-plus-something. It was Christ-plus-nothing. The power to change was simply . . . Christ.
Ask yourself this: What in your life have you truly ever controlled?
Some of us have incredible potential, but we don’t want to try anything bold because we don’t want to fail. The easy choice: live in the relative safety of mediocrity because we think that’s better than rejection.
That means from the very beginning of time, God chose you. Long before you knew him, he knew you. He loved you long before the world began. Before you ever felt the sting of rejection, God had already gone on record as choosing you. Before people decided whether or not you are good enough for them, God had already decided that he wanted to bring you into his family as a son or a daughter of almighty God.
Yet comfortableness and obedience often butt heads.
It’s the giant that causes us to miss the very best because we have settled for something good.
If the Enemy can keep us good and comfortable, then he can prompt us to waste our days. But we are not a people of comfort. We are a people of faith.
So the person who has been forgiven much has much room to forgive others.
You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins. [Selah.]
Satan is described in 1 Peter 5 as an enemy who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (v. 8). Note, he’s not actually a lion; he just roars like one to intimidate you. The Devil wants you to think he has control. He wants to make you feel helpless and hopeless. He wants you to give in to the temptation to believe that things will never change.
In the midst of your fight, the Enemy will most likely add this dagger—If God is so good, then why has all this hardship and pain come into your life?
Some sort of chaos is robbing God’s glory in our lives and preventing us from living the abundant life God invites us to live. So how do we actually get from point A to point B? How do we turn the tables and ensure that our giants will actually fall?
in Christ I had the ability to excuse the Enemy from my table. I was the only one responsible for entertaining his thoughts. And I had the power to ignore them.
Don’t give the Enemy a seat at your table.
Notice David wrote “when I walk through the valley.” He knew his future was not stuck in the middle of the valley, but that his Shepherd would lead him through to the other side. There would be green pasture, quiet water, and rest for his soul on the other side.
There’s nothing on your horizon better than Jesus.
You are not invisible. You are seen and treasured by the God of the universe.
We’ve said, “God can do everything else in the world, but I don’t know if he can take this giant down.”
Most times in our lives the power is not in a massive leap but in the succession of a thousand tiny steps.
The cross is a safe place, but it’s not always a comfortable place.
Life is short. God is big. I’m going to take a step forward. I’m going to obey Christ. I’m not going to be complacent any longer. There’s too much work to be done. I’m going to fulfill what I said I would do. Life is short. God is big. I’m going to trust him to do what only he can do.
Let the Holy [Spirit] in you keep you abiding in Jesus, so that when Satan comes to knock at your door, Jesus will go and open it,
God does not exist for us; we exist for God.
The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
