Slaying Our Giants-Day One. The Giant of Shame

Day 1 Goliath, The Giant of Shame

Scripture Reading: Read I Samuel chapter 17.

Ephesians 6:11-17. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes . . . Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace . . . take up the shield of faith . . . (to) extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

We all know the story of David and Goliath, how David took five smooth stones and slayed the giant Goliath. But do you know what the name “Goliath” means? It means “to be disgracefully stripped naked.” Yuck! Now, Goliath did not literally strip people naked, but he did it, figuratively speaking. For forty days, Goliath, a nearly ten-foot tall Philistine, strutted around and taunted the Israelite soldiers, to take him on. “Bring me a man to fight me – a real man!” he basically was saying. He was so sure that he could take down any potential foe that he taunted, “If you win, I will be your slave – but if I win – you will be MY slave!”

Isn’t that just like a bully? Walking around teasing and tormenting his foes. Daring anyone to fight him. Just the sound of his voice would be enough to send anyone packing, or running for the hills. Who then could imagine that David, the lowly shepherd boy, the youngest of eight boys, a teenager, would be able to defeat him? Even his bigger brothers did not dare go up against this Goliath. They were angry that he even showed up to bring them rations of cheese and bread. “What are you doing here?” they wondered. “Get out of here – this is a dangerous place! This is no place for a kid!” David was undaunted. He had fought bears – and won. He was familiar with rough terrain. “Who is this Philistine who is tormenting the soldiers?” he wondered. “Surely I can take him on.” His youthful inexperience worked as an advantage to him at this point in time. He was strong, courageous and confident – which is exactly the type of adversary that is needed to take down our first giant.

Goliath, the Giant of Shame, was defeated quickly by a surprising yet much more powerful adversary. Look at verse 45 to see what David possessed. He had something that Goliath lacked: true confidence, the kind that comes from the Lord. “You come at me with spear and sword,” he reminded Goliath, “but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” Whoa. What is David saying here? He is informing Goliath that no taunting, no threats, no attempt at shaming another, can even come close to the power that comes with the confidence we can have in an Almighty God.

Where did David get this confidence at such a young age? Not from big weapons like Goliath had. He wasn’t carrying spears and swords. He had only the slingshot and five stones. David’s confidence came from weaponry, for sure: namely, the armor of God. David, known as “a man after God’s own heart,” possessed the confidence that comes from being fully armed with the weaponry of God that is later described by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: the belt of truth; the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace; the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit – the Word of God. David possesses these weapons. He is fully armed. Confident, he was ready to face the giant Goliath. The more powerful man won. Praise God for His power! How great is Our God!
Prayer: Dear Lord, You alone are powerful! You are sharper than any two-edged sword or spear. How confident we should be in that Truth! Thank you for this example of Confidence – the Confidence that we can have, knowing that our strength, our power, is in You alone.

Slay that Giant: Do you harbor any shame toward anything that has happened to you in the past? Set up that event in your mind against the power of the Holy Spirit. He is stronger than that memory! He has conquered that shame! Now possess that confidence! Take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Holy Bible.