The Book's Purpose

• Inspire believers to face daily difficulties by focusing on God
• Learn from King David both things to do and things not to do when faced with life’s challenges
• Remind believers that David was a sinful human being no different from anyone else
• Present Goliath as a symbol representing any giant challenge one faces in life

The Book's Message

Ask someone to name his favorite Bible story and there’s a good chance he will mention David and Goliath. Using a sling shot and defying all human odds, David killed the giant with one stone. For three thousand years the story has inspired men and women to focus completely on God as they face the giants in their lives.

We often overlook the fact, however, that we can learn just as many valuable lessons from David’s struggles with sin and discouragement. Our giants may have names like depression, sickness, family struggles, or fear. Regardless of their names, God promises us victory if we face our giants with great faith.

Where is Your Focus?

What odds would you give David over Goliath? The giant, standing 9 feet, 9 inches tall with a neck size of 20, towers over everyone. Pretty boy David just showed up from the hillsides, taking time off from sheep-watching long enough to deliver lunch for his brothers.

What Are Your Odds?

For days Goliath had begged for someone in the Hebrew ranks to fight him. No one volunteered. Not until David showed up. As soon as the shepherd boy heard the giant defame the living God, David’s mind was made up. He would fight him. The odds of victory would be as great as it would be for a toy poodle to whip a rottweiler.

With the giants you face, you may have given David better odds than you give yourself. Your giants may not carry swords, but they are just as daunting. They have names like abuse, depression, and unemployment. You have no money to pay the bills, people you can’t satisfy, and a tomorrow you can’t face. Just like Goliath, your giants won’t go away. They are with you when you go to bed and when you wake up.

An Ancient Foe Still Lingers

Goliath’s family had been around for a long time. Three centuries earlier, Joshua had driven them from the Promised Land and destroyed all but the residents of Gath, Gaza, and Ashdod. Goliath came from Gath. The blood between the nations still boiled.

Goliath petrified the Hebrews. All they could see was the giant, and all they could talk about was the giant. All David could see was God, and all he could talk about was God. He assured King Saul that the same God who helped him kill a lion and bear would help him kill this enemy. When he approached the giant, he spoke just as boldly. He warned him up front that he would kill him and cut off his head (1 Samuel 17:45-47). Certainly David saw the giant; but he saw God more.

Running Toward the Giant

David ran toward the giant for the confrontation. Goliath must have been laughing. He must have shifted his helmet just enough to expose a small area of flesh. But it was that small area that received the blow from a hurling stone. And the giant crashed to the ground, dead.

When is the last time you ran to meet your giant? Our natural reaction is to retreat like the Hebrew army did. Stop retreating, load your sling, and take a shot. Let your divorce, depression, and addictions know that they will not defeat you.

Hope for All

When you read David’s whole story, you must wonder how he ever deserved the name God gave him, “a man after my own heart.” Giant defeater and then adulterer. Great army leader, but poor excuse for a husband and father. Raging as a warrior one minute and weeping like a baby the next. God’s name for David gives hope to all of us because we ride on the same roller coaster.

You will face giants all through your life. But there is never a time you must face them alone. When you place your primary focus on God, your giants will fall. However, just like David, when you fail to focus on God, you will be the one to fall.

Read through 1 Samuel 17 and notice how many comments David made about Goliath. Only two~ one to Saul and one to Goliath. Next, count how many comments he made about God. I believe it is nine. His thoughts about God were more than four times his number of thoughts about the giant. How does your ratio compare? “Are you four times as likely to describe the strength of God as you are the demands of your day?”

Surviving in the Wilderness

Dry Season for David

David experienced a series of disconnects that landed him in the wilderness. Saul ran him out of the court. He no longer had a position in the army. His wife Michal lied to save her own face. Jonathan couldn’t stay with him. His only choice was to run.

His disconnections evolved into deceit. It seems that he lied every time he opened his mouth in Nob, the city of priests. He escaped to Gath, Goliath’s hometown, and tried to build a relationship based on a common enemy Saul. That strategy didn’t work.

All David saw was trouble. He couldn’t see God at all; so he took matters into his own hands. He began acting like a deranged fool. The Gittites drove him out of town. Now he had no place to go but the desert. In a cave at Adullam he found shade and safety and began his decade of wilderness living.

Can you relate to David’s story? Have you been in situations where you’ve been cut off from the people you love, separated from any sense of normalcy? Have you ever been to Adullam, reached the lowest point in your life, and wondered if you would survive?

Refuge in God’s Presence

Yes, David went berserk for a period. But in the cave he pulled himself together and renewed his faith in the living God. He turned his focus back to God and found refuge.

Refuge apparently was one of David’s favorite words. You will find it more than forty times in the Psalms. Look especially at Psalm 57. Notice the introductory caption, indicating he wrote these words when he fled from Saul into the cave. Imagine the emotions he must have experienced. Think back through the series of setbacks he faced. Then, in the cave, he remembered that he was not alone. “And in the shadow of your wings I will make my refuge” (Psalm 57:1).

In your dry seasons when you hit rock bottom, let God be your refuge. Let Him encircle you, not your career, your family, or your finances. God needs to be the foundation on which you stand.

Community Among God’s People

1 Samuel 22 informs us that some of David’s brothers and other relatives joined him. Then another group, apparently a bunch of losers and rejects, joined him. Doesn’t that present a picture of the church~a group filled with cave dwellers and former cave dwellers?

David could never turn these folks away. He had become a magnet for such a crowd. So he created a community of misfits, all thirsting for God. David’s story of folly, loneliness, and restoration was their story.

When You Can Go No More

Have you ever reached the point where you can go no more? The point where you just need to refuse to take one more step because you don’t have one ounce of energy left?

David’s Finest Hour

David’s 600 soldiers reached this point. They had gone out to war against the Philistines and upon returning discovered that the Amalekites had looted their village and taken their wives and children hostage. Their sorrow turned into anger~against David. After all, he was the one who led them into battle. They were ready to stone him.

Think about the major setbacks in David’s life. Ignored by his family, chased by King Saul, and now rejected by his army. However, what could very well have been his worst hour actually turned into his finest hour. Why? The Bible tells us~“But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6).

When we’ve reached our breaking point, we must do what David did and turn to the Lord. He asked God if he should go after the raiders, and God said, “Go!” With a fresh sense of hope, he motivated the troops to redirect their anger toward the true enemy. Had their family not been taken hostage, they probably would never have accepted David’s challenge. In fact, 200 of them, when they reached the Brook Besor, decided to hang back and enjoy the coolness of the water. How fatigued does someone have to be to stop hunting for a kidnapped child?

Church Members at the Brook Besor

The church has its share of members who can go no more. They are good and godly people who formerly served the Lord with great passion and energy. But now they are completely fatigued. Old age has set in. Or maybe a string of defeats has sapped every ounce of energy from them. Perhaps it was a divorce or an addiction. Regardless of the reasons, the church has its quorum of members who have reached their breaking point.

What do we do with such members? Do we shame them or give them a certain amount of minutes before they have to get in the game? Maybe we need to do what David did and let them stay at the brook.

The Rescue

David and the remaining 400 soldiers resumed the chase. The outlook didn’t bode well until they came across a disabled Egyptian servant that the Amalekites had left behind to die. David nursed the servant back to health and he was able to lead him to the enemy’s campsite.

They swooped upon the camp, killed a bunch of the kidnappers, sent the rest of them running, and, most importantly, rescued their wives and children. Can you imagine the scene? Think about the rescued wives.

They probably thought their days were numbered until the SWAT team arrived and they were reunited with their husbands~ that is, at least some of them were reunited. What about the wives who discovered their husbands stayed back at the Brook Besor? I wonder if wives had rolling pins back then.

Think about the rescue squad. They returned to camp knowing that they had fought while the others stayed back to play a round of golf or catch an afternoon movie. So when the rescuers reached camp, they expected that their families would be returned to them, even though they would not share in the spoils.

However, David defused this notion and declared that the spoils would be equally distributed among them all. He even honored the ones who stayed behind when he stated that they fulfilled their duties by staying back with the supplies. We know many of the mighty deeds David performed. Could this have been the noblest of all when he dignified the plopped down soldiers at Brook Besor?

It’s Okay to Stop

This story reminds us that God designed the Church to be a place where His soldiers can recover their strength. Are you at the stage where you can go no more? Are you among those at the Brook Besor? “If you are listed among them, here is what you need to know: it’s okay to rest. Jesus is your David. He fights when you cannot.”

If you are among the strong, watch out for arrogance. Don’t judge those who can go no more. One day you will probably need to plop down. And when that time comes for you, remember what happened at the Brook Besor.

Conquering Strong Holds

Pete has a problem sticking his foot in his mouth. Joe fails at every opportunity he pursues. She is in her fifth marriage, and that one is messed up. What about you? What is the one problem that eats you up like a leech?

Strongholds

Satan is a master at building fortresses with tall gates and thick walls. He places himself between God and your hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Let’s call these citadels strongholds. Whatever your prevailing problem is, it is so strong that it grips you like a vise, and it is so stubborn that it keeps holding on.

David faced a stronghold when he saw Jerusalem. The Jebusites had set up headquarters there, and no one dared to confront them~that is, except David. He needed a home base, a headquarters for his kingdom. Jerusalem was the ideal location, and he was determined to conquer it for the Hebrews. Jerusalem became his new Goliath.

The story of this conquest appears in a few brief verses of the Bible (2 Samuel. 5:6-9). Notice that the term stronghold appears twice (verses 7, 9). The verses indicate that King David took the stronghold and then he dwelt in it.

The Jebusites had built an impressive citadel. They confidently harassed the Hebrews, saying that they could defend the stronghold even if they were blind and lame. We face the same kind of discouragement whenever we try to break our personal strongholds. Antagonists say, “You’ll never amount to much.” “You’ll always battle those addictions.”

One Powerful Conjunction

If you have been on the receiving end of discouraging words from others, you must not miss one powerful conjunction in the Bible story. The fortress seemed impossible to crack. Then here comes the conjunction. “Nevertheless David took the stronghold.” (Italics added).

Wouldn’t it be great if the Lord wrote nevertheless, in your story? He never attended college; nevertheless he became a successful businessman. Both her parents were alcoholics; nevertheless, she stayed sober. What God did for David He will do for you.

However, you must be willing to do what David did. He ignored the voices from the strongholds and went about the task of conquering them. Nehemiah ignored the threats and critics and kept rebuilding the walls. Jesus did the same. Satan couldn’t divert Him with the wilderness temptations. He simply ignored all the naysayers.

Who Will You Listen To?

Two competing voices vie for your attention. One says, “Go for it.” The other says, “You’d be a fool to try.” One focuses on God’s strengths. The other points out your failures. One builds you up. The other tears you down. Here is the kicker. You decide which one you will listen to.

Follow David’s lead and ignore those voices that aim to discourage you. See opportunities with every challenge. Dig a tunnel through whatever stronghold has a grip on your life. Be creative. Conquer the stronghold that for so long has held you back. Seek the wisdom and power of God. You may be only a prayer away from receiving a nevertheless.

Remember Joe, Pete, and the five-time divorcee? God took the too-quick-to-speak Pete and turned him into the apostle Peter, who preached the great sermon at Pentecost. God took Joe, the failure, and turned him into the prime minister of Egypt. And the fivetime divorcee? The last report on her was that she was bringing many people to Christ in her Samaritan village.

God has a nevertheless waiting for you. He will give you the strength to conquer every stronghold.

Difficult Promises

Things are going well with David. The kingdom is growing, the ark is back, and the enemies are keeping their distance. Something must have jogged his memory about a promise he made some time back.

David’s Promise to Jonathan

Out of the blue David asked his court if there was anyone alive from Saul’s family so that he could show him kindness (2 Samuel 9:1). He remembered a promise he made with Jonathan that he would keep covenant friendship with his best friend’s family should his buddy die in battle. Jonathan did die. One could easily understand why David may have forgotten or neglected his promise. After all, the two were young. And most people would just as soon forget anything that would bring back to mind the horrors of running from Saul. When you make a list of all the giants David faced, don’t overlook the promise giant.

Keeping promises can be a daunting challenge. Think about the husband whose wife battles deep depression each day. She is not the same woman he married. Think of the wife who discovers that her husband is cheating on her. Should she keep her promise when he broke his? What about the parents of prodigals or the parents of disabled children?

David’s Search

After a tedious search, David’s men finally went to the right source, Ziba, a former servant of Saul’s. He knew that one of Jonathan’s sons was still alive but noted that he was crippled (2 Samuel 9:3). His name was Mephibosheth. His nurse tripped and dropped the little boy while fleeing the Philistines. The fall broke both ankles and left him permanently lame. He ended up in a desolate village where he hid for fear of the Philistines and the fear of David.

Mephibosheth thought his fears were realized when David’s men found him and told him the king wanted to meet with him. Can you imagine the surprise and emotions when David informed Mephibosheth that he would receive the full inheritance from Saul and Jonathan and from that day forward he would eat his meals at the king’s table? Talk about grace. “The king is kind, not because the boy is deserving, but because the promise is enduring.”

Covenant Keeping

Why did David go to such great lengths to keep his promise to Jonathan? Because he followed the example of God Himself, the perfect Covenant Keeper. A covenant is a binding agreement. And God’s covenant with his people is irrevocable. It runs through the Scriptures like a scarlet thread.

Consider God’s covenant with Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. Consider His covenant with Abraham when He promised that his descendants would number as many as the stars in the heavens. Consider His covenant with Moses when He promised His blessings to those who obey His commandments. And who could forget the story of Hosea and how he bought back his prostitute wife? His story serves as a reminder of the God who keeps His promises.

Your Story

The sin of Adam and Eve has left you stumbling through life. But a messenger showed up at some point in your life and informed you that the King had a place set for you at His table. Why? Was it because of your IQ, bank account, or special gifts? Not at all. The invitation has nothing to do with you; it has everything to do with God.

You may be angry, tired, and disappointed. Your marriage is far from what you expected. You can’t keep your spouse from leaving. And where abuse is prevalent, you shouldn’t stay. But in your past you remember making a promise. Will you do all that you can to keep it? Is it possible to give it at least one more shot? Why? Keeping your promise in those kinds of circumstances gives you a glimpse of the depth of God’s love for you. This is what love does. When you love promise breakers, liars, and cheaters, you are doing exactly what God has done for you.

Colossal Falls

Web domain hoarder Rogers Cadenhead owned the rights to www.BenedictXVI.com before Rome knew they needed it. In exchange for the rights to the domain name, Cadenhead requested, among other things, complete absolution with no questions asked for events during a week in March 1987.

This scenario makes you wonder what bad stuff Cadenhead entangled himself in that week. What about you? Is there a season you would love to have erased from the tape recording of your life?

David’s Gigantic Fall

David certainly had a season he wished never happened when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, and she became pregnant. With guiltless deception he murdered her husband and married her. The cover-up seemed successful. But David’s heart was a mess because what he did displeased the Lord (2 Samuel 11:27). Until this verse the Lord had conspicuously been left out of the story.

However, in chapter 12, God took control and dominated the story. He sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his sin. Busted. David was speechless; but God spoke (2 Samuel 12:7-12). His speech reflected hurt but not hate. God pronounced His sentence upon the king. In essence, He informed him that his family would face turmoil for the rest of his days.

Confession

Gigantic falls won’t leave you alone until you deal with them. God will not sit idly by while you poison your life with sin. His hands apply pressure like thumbs pressing an infectious boil. He keeps you from peace and rest. And He will keep applying the pressure until you confess your fault. That’s what David finally did: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). It took a year, but he finally confessed his sin.

What did God do with David’s sin? He put it away. And that is exactly what he does with your sin and mine. Isn’t it time to put your week in March 1987 to rest? Confess your sin to God and as the Bible teaches, God will remove your sin as far as the east is from the west.

Two Family Questions

David now looks much older than he really is. The family stress and public shame have taken a toll on his appearance. In 2 Samuel 15, we find him climbing the Mount of Olives. He’s weeping as he makes the trek. Why? Because his own son Absalom has taken over the kingdom by force. David is now homeless. The kingdom he built was now located behind him.

What happened? Were the people stricken with famine? Did the enemies gain a major military victory over him? How can the great king of Israel end up on such a lonely path? Perhaps David can answer two questions for us.

David, How’s It Going with Your Family?

It’s been fourteen years since the Bathsheba affair. And now it is obvious that God lived up to His word that David’s family would suffer for the rest of his life. One of his sons, Amnon, raped Tamar, his half-sister, and then discarded her like trash. What was David’s response to this atrocious criminal act? He got angry (2 Samuel 13:20). There is no evidence at all that he did anything to confront his son. He just got angry. On top of that, there is no evidence that David did anything to console his daughter.

However, Absalom stepped in. He got Amnon drunk and had him murdered. So consider David’s children. One dead at birth. One raped. One murdered. One with blood on his hands. Can you imagine having to face these issues? When his family needed him the most, David cowered and wept in solitude.

David was a lot like television’s Homer Simpson, the epitome of a passive father. But let’s proceed to the second question.

David, How’s It Going in Your Marriage?

When evaluating David’s marriage, red flags appear in 2 Samuel 3:2- 3. Read the verses and count his wives~six of them. Add to that list Michal and Bathsheba and you get eight. 1 Chronicles reports that he also had concubines and sons from those concubines. To keep up with all his wives and children would have required a course in advanced trigonometry.

The king’s list of accomplishments is staggering. But when it came to family matters, he blew it royally. His primary weakness was his lazy inattentiveness to his family when they needed him the most.

How does one explain his obvious failure in family matters? Think about his beautiful psalms. Not one is written about his family. Outside of praying for Bathsheba’s baby, the Bible provides no evidence that he ever prayed for his family. Could it be that he was too busy with kingdom affairs that he had no time for his family? Or was the guilt from past moral collapses so great that he lost all motivation for shepherding his family?

How’s It Going in Your Family?

Don’t make the same mistakes David did. He saw wives as pleasuregivers, not as those deserving love and honor. God calls every husband to be totally loyal to his wife. Don’t even consider looking at someone else. Don’t ever flirt around. You made a commitment on your wedding day. Fulfill your vows as long as you live.

And when it comes to your role as parents, you may not ever win a Nobel Prize, but you are the real heroes of this world. Go to every game and every recital. Read to them and play ball with them. The best way to demonstrate your love to them is spelled T-I-M-E.

Facing Our Giants

Your giant stalks you 24/7. If you wake up dreading the day, he’s been at your bedside during the night. He breathes down your neck while you eat breakfast. And he walks out the door with you. He keeps your failures and disappointments on your mind all day long.

Your giant has a name. It might be discouragement, disease, depression, debt, or dialysis. To defeat your giant, you must learn to focus on the God who will make your giant tumble.

Have you ever wondered why David took five stones from the brook? Reading his story again will reveal the answer. Let the five fingers of your hand remind you of the same five stones you need to face your giants.

The Past

First, let the thumb represent the stone of the past. Everyone else may have quivered; but David remembered past victories. He remembered how God delivered him from the attacks of a bear and a lion. He believed the same God would deliver him from Goliath.

Whatever matters keep you uptight and worried, let the stone of the past remind you how God has always worked on your behalf. Hasn’t He always proven faithful with all your past giants?

Prayer

To move from your thumb to your next finger, you must go through a valley. So let this finger represent the stone of prayer. Don’t face any giant without spending significant time in prayer. Study David’s adventures and you will notice how prayer preceded his victories. However, think about his collapses. Do you think he wrote one of his psalms the night before he murdered Uriah?

Priority Your middle finger is the tallest of the five. Let it represent God’s reputation, which should be your highest priority. David did his best to make certain that no one defamed God’s reputation. He saw Goliath not as a giant but as an opportunity for God to show off. He wasn’t certain he would escape alive, but he was willing to give his life for the sake of God’s reputation. You should see every giant you face as an opportunity for God’s grace to shine.

Passion

The ring finger represents the stone of passion. Don’t miss this very important truth. David ran with passion toward his giant. His brothers, the king, and the Hebrew soldiers stood by with their knees knocking. Not David. He passionately faced the giant.

What good does it do for you to sit and list all your troubles and worries? How long will you stare at your problems? Run toward your giants and do so with great passion.

Persistence

The final finger represents persistence. David knew that the giant had four brothers just as big and mean as Goliath was. For all David knew, these brothers could have come running over the hill to fight him. He was ready. He would use all five stones if he needed to.

You need to imitate David’s persistence. Don’t ever give up. Keep on praying. You may get knocked down on occasion, but get right back up. Keep bagging your rocks and let them fly when you need to conquer the giants in your life.