David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him.”
—1 Samuel 17:32
The story of David and Goliath is familiar to anyone who grew up in church. It’s one of the first stories told in Sunday school. The message is familiar—no matter how big your adversary, you can win with God on your side. Yet as we grow up, that story seems harder to believe, almost like a fairytale or a myth about Greek or Roman heroes.
God never puts a story in the Bible without a reason, and He never specifies that certain narratives are only for children. When God inspired the writer of 1 Samuel, He knew we would all face Goliaths in our lives. Sometimes they are people—an unfair boss, a school bully or another kind of adversary. Sometimes they are the places we are afraid to go or the circumstances we are afraid to face, like a new city, a disability, a sickness or simply a new chapter in life. These adversaries are different “sizes,” but sometimes they all feel too big to defeat. Like David, we sometimes look at them and feel all we have to fight with is a few small pebbles.
If you’re facing a Goliath, run back to this familiar Sunday school story today. Tell God the truth—you don’t feel like David and you’re afraid to fight. God is truth, so He responds well to it. He will give you the inner strength you need. He will also equip you with the right weapons, whether those are the right words, the right career move or the right decision at a crossroads. Your adversary will shrink, and you will be able to handle it. Once you have, you can claim another victory and praise God.
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