For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13
We all have fears, some of us fear snakes, some fear thunder, some fear failure, some fear rejection, some fear heights or even death and on and on. But we are not alone. Our fears can become crippling idols. God has given us a number of examples of fear throughout scripture.
In 1 Kings 19 we see Elijah, who had just come down from a mountaintop experience, the prophets of Baal were defeated, fire descended from heaven, Israel believed God, false prophets were all put to death, and a three year drought was ended by prayer. Despite all of that, when Jezebel threatened his life, Elijah experienced a time of great fear and he ran from God’s call on his life. His fear became a crippling idol.
Felix who was a Governor deciding the fate of the apostle Paul during his imprisonment, called for Paul to hear him speak. “But as he (Paul) was discussing righteousness, self control and the judgement to come, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.” Felix is fearful of the judgement to come. Acts 24
In 1 Samuel 17 we see the battle of David and Goliath. Saul and the Israelites , when confronted by Goliath, become dismayed and terrified. They are all but paralyzed with fear. They had great fear, that had become a crippling idol.
However, in this very same chapter we see how fear can be overcome.
For 40 days the Philistines attempted to lure the Israelites into battle. Daily Goliath would come out and offer to fight any Israelite man, saying that if the Israelite won, the Philistines would become Israel’s subjects. Whenever the Israelites saw Goliath they would “fear and flee” (1 Samuel 17:24). Their fear was bigger than God. Their fear was a crippling idol.
But David, the youngest of Jesse’s children, who came to the battle to bring provisions to his brothers (at his father’s request), did not fear Goliath. In fact he went to Saul and asked to be allowed to go out to fight Goliath. King Saul initially says no, because David is a young man (it is suggested that David could have been as young as 12 and no older than 19). David reminds him that he has had to fight lions and bears to rescue his fathers sheep so he is perfectly capable of fighting Goliath. But (in verse 37) he argues a far more important reason “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”. Saul acquiesces and sends David into battle, with just a sling shot to defend himself.
When David approaches Goliath he is immediately taunted by Goliath. David responds “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.” 1 Samuel 17:45. He continues to confront Goliath and indicates in verse 47 that “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 and he will give all of you into our hands. God was bigger than David’s fear.
David strikes Goliath with a stone from his sling and slays him.
Our God had the power to speak the earth into being. He had the power to, through David, slay the Giant in David’s life. He has the power to slay the giants in yours too.
What ever you are fearing today, God can overcome. He is bigger than any Giant you will ever face.
I pray that today we would have the faith, trust and courage of David and that we would face the giants/fears in our lives the way he did. He had no fear, he just had faith and trust that God would win the battle in his life.
God will win the battles in our lives (Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you’ do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right had.”). He did not create us with a spirit of fear or timidity (2 Timothy 1:7 – “for God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.”).
Kneel before our Heavenly Father and lay those fears at His feet. He goes before you in your battles and has already given you victory.
If you have been attempting to fight the giants in your life in your own strength, if your fear has become a crippling idol and if you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I pray that you would go to our life preserver page (https://Forgiven-N-Loved.com/life-preserver/)and pray the prayer that is outlined there. You will never know true peace until you do.
Once you have prayed that prayer, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-n-loved.com and let me know, so that I can be in prayer for you and help you grow in your knowledge of and relationship with our Precious Savior, Jesus Christ.
Luv Ya!
