"SPECIAL BLESSING" SURVIVING GIANT COUNTRY

I Samuel 17


Wouldn’t it be awesome if we never had one single struggle in life? Awesome!
BUT, look at the downside…If we never had any struggles in life, then we would never have the need to call upon God or trust God…We should praise God for the struggles!

When we look at the life of David we see that he had some serious struggles. In fact there are more struggles than we can talk about this morning…but I want to tell you about one GIANT struggle David faced and how he survived it.

Some of you today are facing and will face some pretty significant struggles…If you listen carefully today I think it will help you see your next struggle in a different light…

Now, for the purpose of the message, we are going to call our struggles, GIANTS…and we are going to talk about how to survive while walking in GIANT Country.

Let’s look at the Giant Goliath Gath: Reference verses 3-7
He was 9’9 inches tall…His armor weighed about 175 lbs…His spear weighed about 35 lbs…And he was a champion among the Philistines…He taunted Israel 40 days and night…He was a big man, with big armor, taunting a big challenge.

Here’s a no brainer…GIANTS are BIG…some bigger than other, but they are all BIG!
That’s the way are struggles are! And they are too BIG for us to fight and survive alone!

By the way these GIANTS have no regard for your feelings, well-being or needs…in fact if we do not face them they will destroy our lives!

In case you are wondering…Giants are real…many references in the Bible.
Goliath was a descendant of Anak who the Bible calls a giant.
The spies who went to check out Canaan reported that giants were in the land.
There is also a man named Og of Bashan whose bed was 13ft long and 6ft wide

Early 1900’s - Robert Wadlow - 8’11 tall
Today in the Ukraine - Leonid Stadnik - 8’ 4” tall.
Many others…

Goliath was a real giant and as far as the GIANT struggles we face…they are real as well…So how do we survive Giants?

Set the scene…David began like any other day…tending the sheep like he had done for years. But, this day would be different!

In verses 17-27…We see the armies of the Philistines set against the armies of Israel…David’s three oldest brothers were there among the Israelites…Jesse sends David to the battle front with food, but more than that he wanted to make sure his sons were OK.

Little did David know when he arrived on the scene he would face a mighty BIG GIANT:
He heard the fearless Giant’s challenge…He saw the fearful soldiers cower and run away in fear…He questioned why someone hadn’t done something about this Philistine…He was criticized by Eliab…He was discouraged by King Saul…Yet this teenage boy stood to face a GIANT.

Note the contrast: In v. 10 - Goliath said, “I defy the armies of Israel.”
In v. 26 & 36 – David said, “Goliath has defied the armies of the living God.”
Understanding who we are and whose we are will go a long way when it comes to surviving giants. We belong to God and He is a Giant Slayer!

You know, Giants are not in the habit of announcing that they are coming…they just show up! They catch us off guard with their sudden, awesome, overwhelming appearance! The truth is when they show up, they scare us to death!

What kind of GIANTS are you facing?
Problems at work or school?
Problems with your spouse or your children?
Problems with finances?
How about health problems?
Habits or addictions?
Fears?

All of these are examples of GIANT struggles that taunt us day after day. We may look at some of these situations wondering of we are going to be able to survive! They came along when we were least prepared, they caught us unaware...but from God’s perspective they are all part of his perfect plan and timing!

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."…We must get it into your hearts that God is working all things out for our good…every struggle big or small has been given according to God’s timing to work out His perfect plan!

I Samuel 17:45-4745Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands. - Here lies the key to today’s message…
In order to survive GIANT Country we must trust God’s providence…He allowed it!
We must trust His power…He will help us survive it!
We must trust His provision…He will deliver it into our hands.
BUT…not if we fail to face it and slay it!

Now David could have said, “God I am not ready for this Giant!” Or He could have said, “God hold the Giant at bay until I can get ready for it!” Or, “Take the Giant away God; He’s too big and scary for me.”

Instead, David understood that if the Giant was there it had to be slain and because God was on his side he believed that he would get the victory!

What happens when we run from Giants?
Remember Israel? They refused to enter the Promised Land because they were afraid to face the Giants in the land…So they wandered in the wilderness for forty years…truth is most of them never received the promise…when they finally did enter, the giants where still there to be dealt with. You can’t just ignore them.
A lot of Christians are wandering in the wilderness because they refuse to face Giants. And until you face your Giants and slay them with God’s help…you will fail to receive all that God has in store for you.

Whatever that Giant may be…face it in the name of Jesus, and slay it!

We can get depressed, defeated, or upset over it…or we can realize that every GIANT struggle we face is being used by God to work out His will in our lives.

We can be like Saul and Israel and we can hide from the giant; or we can be like David and we can face the giant. The choice is yours.

The only way to survive giant country is to stand up, face the GIANT and put it to death! Are you ready to slay your GIANTS?

Senior Pastor John Sweat, Sr
Crossroads Baptist Church
Middleburg, Florida