By Shannon Marshall

The little boy alarmed his family when he started screaming. “Git animal! Git!” The family being on vacation in the Smoky Mountains thought the boy was seeing a bear. The parents rushed to the boy’s rescue, only to discover the animal frightening the boy was a little chipmunk. The chipmunk to the parents was a welcome sight but to the boy, it was a Goliath. Goliaths are the giants in our life.

One of the famous stories in the Bible is the story of David and Goliath. We read this story in 1 Samuel 17. David got rid of the Goliath that had scared the nation, Israel. How do we get rid of the Goliaths?

First, the Anatomy of Goliaths. Goliaths are those things that are overwhelming, they cause intimidation and emotional insecurity. They can cause us to not be able to control our emotions because Goliaths control us. Goliaths can be medical, economical, relational, career, etc., Whatever it is, it is big and just doesn’t go away. Goliaths are most always spiritual.

Second, Analyze the Goliath. What was it that defeated the Goliath? We know David used a slingshot and a stone, but it goes beyond that. We are given a hermeneutical clue in verses 26 and 36. In those two verses we read the phrase, “uncircumcised Philistine.” David saw what others weren’t noticing. David put a spiritual prospective on the problem. When facing a Goliath if all you see is the visible physical giant, then you won’t see the invisible spiritual giant. Circumcision was the sign of the covenant. A covenant was a divinely ordered relational bond with God. David saw that Goliath was not in the covenant with God. Every Christian is in a covenant with God and needs to live under the covenant with God.

Third, Attacking the Goliath. Goliaths will be in your life, but they should not rule your life. In verses 34 and 35, we read that when a lion or bear took one of David’s sheep, he ran and attacked the lion or bear with his slingshot. In verse 48 we read that David ran toward Goliath to attack him. We are no longer on the defense; we are on the offense.