Facing the Giants

I'm a morning person. In the evening I can be anything from dopey to downright irritable. Ever since I've been a mom I've treasured my quiet time in the morning before the kids get up. My son's a morning person too and, no matter how quiet I am, he often joins me in that early morning quiet. When he does he asks for the same story. Every time. David and Goliath. Lest you think I'm some kind of extraordinarily saintly mother, I will confess to my heart sinking when the pitter-patter his feet invade my quiet, but I've valiantly turned from my choice of reading to I Samuel 17. It's come in handy lately. As I've pointed out valuable lessons from the story to my son, I've been preaching to myself...

Lately, his temper has felt like a giant bigger than Goliath. I face giants of anxiety. We've talked about the size of the giant and the size of the boy and the size of the stone that felled the giant. How was it that a boy with a stone was able to conquer a giant? The answer is in David's declaration: "I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven's Armies...Today the Lord will conquer you and I will kill you and cut off your head!" The only size that mattered was the size of the God in whom he trusted. David knew that he had to do his part, but it was going to be the power of God that would destroy His enemy.

David knew God. How did he know Him well enough to dare to defy a giant that had older, more experienced men shaking in their boots? In the years leading up to this day, David had been shepherding his father's sheep. A pretty mundane life, indeed. (Do you feel like your job/life is pretty mundane sometimes?) He had a lot of time on his hands where his mind wasn't too occupied and what did he do with it? He meditated--focused his thoughts--on God. He worshiped and praised God. A reading of the Psalms of David show that he saw God in everything around Him (Psalm 145 is good example). He knew about God's character because he was focused on all that God could and did do. When it came to facing an enemy David knew what God could do. He was more in awe of God than the giant.

Giants have a way of blocking out the light and even drowning out all other sounds. Yet, when David faced Goliath not even the roar of the giant's taunts could drown David's confidence in the Lord of Heaven's Armies! All those years of building intimacy with God prepared him for this day when a giant was defeated and whole nation was liberated!

Giants are inevitable. Intimacy with God is optional. I want to be more like David.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.
No one can snatch them away from me,
for my Father has given them to me and
He is more powerful than anyone else.
No one can snatch them from the Father's hand.
John 10:27-29

A Strong Tower

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.

Proverbs 18:10

I'm a very visual person. This can be a blessing or a curse. If I'm trying to picture how I want something to look, it's great. If you give me "too much information", well, I could be scarred for life! My Papa knows this about me so sometimes He answers my questions in wonderful visual ways.

Just this week I was remembering one of these answers He gave to me in July of 2007. We were living in a camping trailer as we tried to finish the house we were building. It was pretty stressful. I don’t like moving even when I’m looking forward to it. Nothing was convenient. No shower, no laundry, no stove, no privacy. It had to have been the windiest July on record. I couldn’t even barbeque because the flame would blow out. I had tried really hard to be organized so things would run smoothly in this transition time and yet it seemed like I was daily rummaging through boxes looking for the one thing that we absolutely needed. My husband was under a lot of pressure to get the house completed and get back to work.

I was playing a favorite CD and trying to encourage myself. I found myself singing enthusiastically to a song based on Proverbs 18:10: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe.” I prayed, “Lord, how do I run to your name? How is your name a ‘strong tower’? I really want to be safe right now from so many different things. Discouragement. Frustration. Impatience. Anger.”

No sooner had that prayer formulated in my heart than one of my girls came running toward me yelling, “Mom!! He’s trying to hit me!” As soon as she called out, “Mom!” her little tormentor slowed down and by the time she reached me he was actually off and running in the other direction.

I laughed out loud! Probably not the reaction the kids were looking for, but God had answered my prayer. I saw in living colour that when I call on His name and I’m running toward Him the enemy knows he’s already been defeated.

I think I often call for help, all the while cringing and huddling with my hands over my head as though I'm still expecting the enemy to strike. It helps me to visualize myself running with confidence toward my Papa while my enemy backs off because he knows he has no chance of succeeding. Seeing with the eyes of faith what is really happening in a difficult time makes all the difference in our posture.

The trailer didn’t get any bigger and it was weeks before things got a little more convenient, but I found myself a little more peaceful as I “ran into the strong tower” calling out, “Father! Abba! I need you!”