“Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” (1 Sam. 17:32)
Expanded Passage: 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-13; 17:32-37; 18:14; 1 Chronicles 1:1-3
Goliath was terrorizing the Israelite army. Every soldier in Saul’s forces was petrified to step onto the battlefield and to fight the fierce warrior. Goliath was a giant man and a skilled soldier. He was the hero of the Philistines. He stood before the Israelites calling for someone to come and fight him, but no soldier would. They were all frozen with fear.
Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Have you ever been standing before a Goliath or a storm or a crisis but afraid to move? If you have, you are not alone. Nearly everyone, at some point in their lives, finds themselves facing a terrifying trial they must overcome. But when that happens, the question is: What are you going to do in that moment? Will you remain frozen in fear or trust God and take action?
David chose to take action. While everyone else was hiding and running from the fight, David made the choice to trust God and face Goliath. There will come a time in every Christian’s and Christian leader’s life when they will be faced with a similar choice. Therefore, you must be willing to examine and ask yourself, what will I choose? In that moment, I hope and pray that each of us will choose to trust God and take action.
Do not remain in your fear, but step forward in faith.
Andrew Christman, a proud veteran of the US Army, serves as a hospital chaplain in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a graduate of Wesley Seminary and an ordained Wesleyan pastor.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
