The man was larger than life, a head taller than most people, he came towards me, sat down in front of me and began to talk. He told me how he was abnormally strong, had supernatural powers and claimed to know the guy who was running the dark side of the world (satan). He refused to enter into my prayer room area and sat off to the side.
I was talking to God about it the next day as it had been an unsettling encounter, not a usual conversation, I did not sleep well and as I queried God, He pretty much told me I had met my Goliath.
The original Goliath was a warrior in the Bible who taunted the Israelite army by demanding they send someone over to fight him. If Goliath could beat their champion the Israelites would become their slaves but if the Israelite warrior beat Goliath, they would become theirs.
“A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels, on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.” 1 Samuel 17:4-8
For 40 days Goliath came out and shouted at the Israelite army and this was the result:
“This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.’ On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.” 1 Samuel 17:10
“Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.” 1 Samuel 17:24
I studied the story about David and Goliath, David was the young shepherd boy that took on the challenge that Goliath kept throwing down and killed the big bully with a slingshot and a stone.
God had said, “I had met my Goliath”, what did that mean?
A Goliath is BIG. It can be a person, a thing, an experience, something that you cannot see around, or through, basically an immoveable thing in front of you.
A Goliath is larger than life, you feel puny standing next to it, intimidated.
A Goliath has a big mouth, is proud, arrogant and full of itself – basically it feeds on itself and as it puffs itself up – it keeps getting bigger. We also can feed it by stewing on it, worrying about it and each time you do you make Goliath seem even larger. I was doing that in my mind after my encounter.
Notice that the whole Israelite army shook in their boots, terrified and they did this every day for 40 days! Goliath’s do that – they paralyze you. The Israelite army was a trained army of thousands of men, all strong, all warriors. Yet there they stood, frozen or running away. Biblical Goliath must have been one very large and powerful dude!
God went on to tell me that all people have a Goliath at some point or other in their life. It can be a person, an addiction or habit, circumstances: job, finances, a move, a death or sickness. A Goliath is something that seems to control you and makes you feel helpless. It takes over your thoughts as you try to figure out how to get around or through it. You seem to be powerless.
Goliaths are more in your mind than they are in reality. Did you get that? Goliaths are reinforced by your own thoughts and feelings. Oh, they are big, but you are not helpless, you are not powerless as much as they trick you into believing it. This is ultimate mind warfare.
When I asked God why I had this strange encounter, He very forcefully said, “why not? Do you not know who you are?”
I was taken aback instantly. I was a warrior in God’s army, I was a child of God, I am God’s friend, I am a follower of Jesus and I have the living Holy Spirit living inside of me. Put all of that together and with God, I am more powerful than any Goliath out there. No not Jane, but the God who lives inside of me the one that the Bible says:
“The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. If the same Holy Spirit lives in you, He will give life to your bodies in the same way.” Romans 8:11
If I believe my Bible and I believe in my God, then I can stand my ground confidently knowing that God will do the work and the fighting that needs to happen. Did I do that that day when that fellow came in to have a “chat”? I sure hope I did. I knew I had nothing to stand on in my own life, but I knew the God of the universe who is alive and well and able to meet this man at the battle line that he had drawn and I knew that I knew who the winner of the battle would be.
This is the same for you. If you think you can take on and fight the Goliath in your own strength and look for ways around, under or over it you have already lost.
Let’s look at the Biblical account:
“Goliath looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!'
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17: 42-47
David did not take on Goliath on his own, he knew that God would fight on his behalf. David knew what those thousands of Israelite soldiers did not, or had forgotten, the battle was already over when God fights for you and you will lose if you fight on your own.
How often do we take on a fight that is not ours to engage in instead of trusting in the one who promises:
“You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.” Deuteronomy 3:22
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