Giants

Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 1 Samuel 17:4 NAS95

So what do you do when the Goliath in your life wins? What do you do when the giant beats you? We have all identified with

David in the story of David and Goliath. Pastors preach about the story all the time. Sunday school teachers tell the story to wide-eyed children, describing the great big giant and the small young man David. David always wins. At least in the sermon and Sunday school class.

I was always cast as Goliath in the Sunday school re-enactments. I never got to win. I guess that is ok but I wonder if that is why I always felt like a loser as a young person. Probably not, but it is better than blaming my mother. What if I had gotten to win, even once?

Here is the rub. In the perfect Christian life, Goliath is never supposed to win. But he does. Right now a few people will stop reading and they will do one of two things. Hate me and condemn me to outer darkness, or thank me for being honest.

In my last musing, I wrote about double-speak. How facts were skewed to present false information. In the disclaimer, advertisements, give a hint of the true facts, etc. The medicine I wrote about was for a physical health issue that I was dealing with in 2020. The medicine did not work, the prayers did not work. Nothing worked. I had to have life-altering surgery. Some want to argue that I did not have enough faith to be healed. Others said that I did not pray the right prayers, or there was sin in my life, or some other thing that hindered God from healing me. Some will contend it was not God’s will for me to be healed. There are lots of good, and bad, arguments about why a person is not healed, but that is all they are arguments. Only God knows for sure. But, and this is my point, Goliath won.

It was not the first or only time that Goliath won when it comes to my health. It is not the first or only time a member of my family has lost a health battle and had to face surgery. I am the same guy who had a miracle of healing in his heart in 2001. I serve the same God, and have the same, and maybe more, faith to believe in healing. But, Goliath has won more than once.

I have quit caring about the why. What I do care about is how did I live out my Christian walk and faith during the battle and beyond. That is what bothers me the most about the battles with the Goliaths. Did I fight the good fight, even in losing?

I was introduced to a unique perspective on Goliath recently, what if the David character is not us? What if we are the brothers looking on as the David character is portraying the Battle of Christ as He takes on Death, Hell, and the Grave? What if we were never supposed to be the ones doing the battle, but rather the rest of the host of Israel ready to clean up the mess after Goliath is slain? I interject this here for two reasons, one, to help us remember the battle is the Lord’s, and two, to make us think a little differently for a moment.

I might have to come back to this idea at another time, but for now let us stick to the fact that sometimes, we lose the battle.

What will, you do if you are the loser? Too often people walk away from God. If momma isn’t healed we blame God and walk away from the church and faith. I guess Job could have done the same.

We read that God replaced all that Job lost in his trial.

The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold. Then all his brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the LORD had brought on him. And each one gave him one piece of money, and each a ring of gold. The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. He had seven sons and three daughters.

Job 42:10-13 NAS95

I am elated for Job, but I wonder, how did he feel about the children who died? More kids are great, but what about the child-sized holes in his heart? Verse 17 of this passage says “Job died, an old man and full of days.” But what about during the trial? He had already suffered a great loss when he said:

"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him. Job 13:15 NAS95

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. Job 13:15 KJV

I included two translations here, “I will hope” and “I will trust.” It says it all. The one man who endured more than anyone has ever been asked to endure, before or since, says I will hope and trust in God. If you read a few more translations you might discover the second half of this passage is Job commenting if he dies in the middle of the trial, at least he will get to argue his case before God face to face. While I might not be able to see God, I can communicate directly with him because of Salvation. I like to ask Him once in a while, why me?

I hope that I can always be like Job. No matter the Goliath, and whether I see a victory or a crushing defeat, I hope to always echo though this kills or nearly kills me, I will trust in the Lord. One preacher years ago put it this way, “I will trust God for my healing until the day I die. Healed or not, when I die I will still have my faith in Jesus Christ, and get to spend eternity with Him according to the promise of the Bible.”

So, if Goliath is winning, or won, what are you going to do? Curse God and die? Stand with Job? Only you get to decide. Goliath will win a few times in your lifetime. I am sorry to be the one to tell you. So let me be the one to encourage you to join in with the rest of us losers and declare that even if Goliath wins we will serve the Lord.