In 1 Samuel 17, the Army of Israel and the Philistine army are drawing up their battle lines. Israel is on one hill – the Philistines are on the other, with the valley between them. This is the opening scene, but instead of the two armies rushing into the valley to fight, the Philistine army has a plan. They send their fiercest warrior, Goliath, with a proposal: send one warrior down into the valley to fight in a winner-take-all battle to the death.

Not a fair fight! Goliath was a champion. He was more than nine feet tall and had impressive armor weighing about 125 pounds. This giant-sized warrior went into the valley day after day for forty days shouting his fear inspiring taunts. The Army of Israel was intimidated and then terrified. Saul was offering prizes to the man who would fight Goliath.

Israel’s army was losing the battle before it began because they focused Goliath. They were looking at one warrior and listening to his harassment, instead of looking at the truth of the situation. They were the Army of Israel, God’s people. Goliath was coming against God Almighty when he came against them.

It’s not until verse 17 when David shows up on the scene bringing supplies to his brothers that the story shifts. He watches Goliath as he shouts his daily taunts, his reaction is not one of fear, but of indignation. Verse 32: David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” In my next blog post, we’ll dig into the battle between David and Goliath.

The Enemy – God’s enemy and ours, does the same thing today. He stirs up fears and doubts in his targets, which would be you and me. He is relentless in his harassing and tormenting. His purpose is to draw us away from the Father and to get us to listen to his lies. The Enemy works through intimidation, fear, harassment, torment, discouragement, doubt, whatever lies he believes will work to gain control over us. The Enemy will attack us in our most vulnerable places. When we accept his lies as truth, instead of relying on the Word of God, we give him power over us. We must do our best to not allow the enemy a place to work from in our lives. How do you do that? Stand on the Truth of who you are as a child of the Most Hight God. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, tell the enemy to go and never return. Yes, it isn’t a fair fight! Jesus is our Champion and He wins the battle every time!

When we see our children/grandchildren struggling with fear, let’s remind them that God is with them and will protect them always. Please feel free to print out the prayer and Bible verses below to share with the children you love.

Until next time, God bless you!

Virginia Finnie

Supporting Scripture

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10:5

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:7

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8

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Virginia Finnie is the author of Hey Warrior Kids! Grab Your Slingshot!, Hey Warrior Kids! Put On Your Armor!, and It’s a Super-Bad Terrible Day!. Follow Children’s Books by Virginia Finnie for daily inspirational posts. https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensBooksbyVirginiaFinnie