In the early years of growing my faith in Christ, I often relied on my husband’s faith. I lacked his confidence in the Lord, which drew me to “borrow his faith.” The unknown scared me, and I struggled to trust God for the future.
Have you ever been there? Relying on someone else’s faith in God because you were not sure you could trust Him for the unknown?
It is challenging to take steps in faith because we want to have things mapped out. We want to know that when we decide to step forward, then a, b, and c will happen. We long for security. We long for stability. We long to know what to expect once we step out in faith.
However, this kind of faith living is insufficient.
There is a story in the Bible about a young shepherd boy named David accepting a challenge to battle a champion warrior named Goliath. David only took five stones and a slingshot into the challenge. However, Goliath wore some pretty serious gear into the battle!
The scriptures in 1 Samuel 17;4-7, CSB, paint a clear picture of his armor. “Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds. There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds. In addition, a shield-bearer was walking in front of him.”
With the boldness of the living God on David’s side, he approached Goliath and postured his slingshot as he had done so many times to protect his sheep from wild prey. He placed a stone in the cradle of the sling, wound the sling, and released the stone. Upon its release, the rock flew in the air like a fastball from a baseball pitcher’s hand and landed smack dab in Goliath’s forehead. He fell face down to the ground and died.
With all the impressive armor Goliath had to protect himself, how was he so easily struck down?
Throughout scripture, a soldier’s armor is paralleled to spiritual weapons, much like we read in Ephesians 6, where the Christ-follower is armed with the whole armor of God. For example, Goliath’s helmet would be like a helmet of salvation; his javelin would be the sword of the Spirit, meaning God’s Word, and the shield as the shield of faith in God. Ephesians 6:11 tells us to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the schemes of the devil.
While Goliath had some impressive armor, none of it protected him from his enemy, David.
Goliath had no faith in God but instead relied on his own strength and the man walking in front of him carrying his shield. The picture we see here should alarm us and lead us to ask ourselves some questions: Is my faith my own? Am I relying on someone else to walk in front of me, protecting and leading me, rather than God Himself?
As Christ-followers, salvation comes by grace through faith; this is not from ourselves but God’s gift. Our faith at the moment of our salvation is sustainable, but we must cultivate it over time.
Scripture tells us in Hebrews 11:1, NIV, what faith is: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Put another way, Dr. J. Oswald Sanders says, “Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.”
The battle we fight calls for impressive armor, not like Goliaths, but that which God has provided for us. Faith in God shields us from the lies, distractions, and fears with which the enemy taunts us.
Considering Goliath was struck in the forehead reminds me that so often, we can apply the helmet of salvation to protect our minds-where the greatest battle takes place. If not activated, our enemy, Satan, will attack us where we are most vulnerable. Putting on the helmet itself is insufficient; we must apply its power by proclaiming God’s truth against the enemy’s lies, fixing our thoughts on Christ, and thinking of righteous things. Apart from the helmet application, we are vulnerable. Being caught off guard causes mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual battles to be far more invasive than we ever wanted.
May Goliath’s side of the story cause us to submerge ourselves in God’s Word more intentionally. Learning who God is and about His faithfulness empowers us to fight against the devil’s schemes. In addition, let’s not shy away from being in community with other believers so we can learn from one another’s faith walk and hold one another accountable (Proverbs 27:17, Hebrews 10:25).
I urge you, friends, to walk in the Spirit fully armed with God’s way of fighting, what is sometimes called the invisible battle (Ephesians 6:12). With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). As equipped children of God, we are overcomers (Revelation 2:7). Glory to God!
*Sometimes pennies in your path come in the form of a fresh perspective.
P.S.
Question: Are you willing to cultivate your own faith in God? If so, have the faith as Corrie Ten Boom when she said, never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. I would love to hear from you so I can pray for you on your new faith journey.
Growing Deeper-
One Simple Action Step: Begin by committing to read the Word for 15 minutes a day and closing your time out with prayer.
Scripture Plunge: 1 Samuel 16-17
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