Goliiiiiath...stomp, stomp...Goliiiiath

I don't know if any of you were Doughnut Man fans, but one of his popular songs when I was a kid was about Goliath. It was running through my mind this morning along with some truths that God was unlocking for me. The story of David and Goliath keeps popping up lately and this morning God gave me some really powerful things to hang on to from this epic story.

First, the main scripture that I want to correlate with this story is James 2:17, " In the same way, faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." We have pretty much all heard this from the pulpit, "faith without works is dead", interpreted many different ways. Being in a position where I am really living a life that is by faith, it has taken on a whole new depth and meaning to me.

To bring it back to the story of David and Goliath, we all know the story, but let me remind us. So basically, its a battle between the Philistines (Goliath's crew) and the Israelites (Saul's crew). Goliath was this man over 9 feet tall the bible says and his armor weighed an amazing amount...let's just say he was big, much bigger than anybody on the other team! David, well, he must have looked like my baby, Sam, looking up to his daddy...lol! As the story goes, David would go back and forth from tending sheep to taking food to his 3 oldest brothers who were on the front lines of this war. Well, one of the days that David went out, Goliath came out and thus this amazing story unfolds. Do you know that Goliath came out on the top of that hill and challenged the Israelites for 40 days before something was actually done? Saul was offering money and even his daughter in marriage to whomever would face Goliath and kill him. Anyway, David, decides that he wants to fight Goliath after a conversation with his brothers calling him "conceited" and "wicked in heart". David was like forget you guys and went straight to Saul and told him that he would fight the giant. I love it, then Saul tries to tell David you can fight him you are only a boy. And David, being the fighter that he is, fights for his right and tells Saul about the lion and the bear that he killed while tending his sheep etc...etc...so Saul gives in and says go ahead, the Lord be with you. Saul then tried to clothe David in his over sized armor and David couldn't even walk in them because they were to heavy and big. So David says thanks but no thanks to Saul and takes his staff, his sling and 5 smooth stones with him to face Goliath.

After some bantering between David and Goliath, the fight between them begins. Basically David, came at Goliath in the name of the Lord, not by might and brute strength like Goliath. David struck Goliath down with a stone to the head, badda bing, and then, well, cut his head off for good measure. All the people cheered and there you go...David and Goliath went down in history!

So, what am I getting out of this:

1. When the battle seems to big to fight and we turn away from the giants in our lives, we miss out on the victory. 

There were a lot of soldiers that wouldn't face Goliath, therefore they did not get the reward that Saul was offering. My battle seems harder than it's been and I know that's because I am about to walk into victory. I just have to be brave enough to face it head on and keep pressing through, despite how big and ugly it may look.

2. That bit about the armor being to big and not befitting of David...that to me is like all of my doctors saying to me, " Try this medicine." or " Let's see if this procedure  or option will fit your situation and make you better." And here I am saying, " It's too big, it's too heavy, this can't be good for me, if I am gonna fight, I am gonna fight in the manner that God intended me to fight!"

3. And lastly, it wasn't enough for David to just trust and believe God that he could kill Goliath. David had to physically walk out there and face the giant. He had to physically throw that stone and chop off his head. HE HAD TO PUT WORKS TO HIS FAITH!

There are a  lot of what I call "faith actions" that God has been telling me take. They are simple to most, but to me it's like facing Goliath with nothing but my trust in the Almighty God, my staff and my sling shot! Still, I am moving forward despite what the Saul's in my life might try to say to me. I am putting action to my faith as the next step to overcoming in this journey.

We are on the last week of the drug wean, then just a couple of weeks of whatever after that, then we should be able to get a good idea of what my body is like without massive amounts of chemicals in it. I am experiencing lots of stuff, but God's grace really has been sufficient. Please keep praying for us. We need it now more than ever.

We know that God is up to really good things and we don't want to run the other way and miss the victory! Love you all and thanks again for walking this out with us...