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Devotional

"Giants"
(07/28/06)

 

Israel had to have a king.  They wanted to be like other nations.  They had a King, an invisible King but they wanted one they could see and touch so God picks Saul to be king.  Unlike their invisible King, this one was very human.  One day Israel was being oppressed by the Philistines and king Saul was afraid and would not face the giant.  Saul was no weakling.  1 Samuel 10:23 says, "he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward."  Verse 6 says that the spirit of the Lord would come on him.  Verse 9 says, "God gave him another heart."  You would think he had everything he needed to be a great king.  Yet, when he faced his giant he failed.  The young shepherd boy had to take down Goliath.

There are several lessons here:

 

1.  There will be giants in our lives that we must deal with.  God will do his part for us.  He will equip us for whatever we will face in life but there are some things he expects us to do for ourselves.  In Hebrews 12:1 God's word says, "Let us lay aside every weight", "let us run with patience."  Romans 12:1 says, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."  God's word is filled with scripture that says, "I'll do this for you, you do this."  There are many things God will do for us.  For instance salvation..we can't save ourselves, but there are some things that we must do for ourselves.

 

2.  Although David killed Goliath and delivered Israel, this was Saul's giant and Saul found out that no one else can do your giant killing for you.  You must face your own giants and deal with them yourselves.

 

3.  Because Saul didn't kill his giant when he had the chance he faced the Philistines again.  This time they killed his three sons and he was struck down himself in battle, later taking his own life.  When one examines the armor used in those days you will find about the only exposed part of the body was the back.  It appears that king Saul was running from his giant again.  This time it brought him down.

 

4.  Every Christian will have giants in their life that they must deal with.  We have all the help from God we need to bring the giants down but if we don't, and if we try to ignore it or run from it we will face the giant again and eventually it will take us down.

 

"Be A Giant Killer"

Keep Reading The Book,
Gerald