What is your current situation? Do you have something in your life that you want to change or need to change? Maybe, like me, you have a whole list!
I’ll bet the following items are on a lot of people’s lists.
- Make More Money
- Pay Off Debt
- Get in Shape
- Lose 20 pounds
- Get a New Car
- Build a New House
- Give more to your Church
- Give more to an Important Charity
- Help a Friend Get Out of Debt
- Make Your Marriage Better
- Find Your Perfect Mate
When we have financial problems we think our world is coming to an end, our pain is real, and we think our frustration is more than anyone else has ever experienced. The same is true if we’re over weight or lonely. Then we see a young man with his legs blasted off returning from the war in Iraq, or a child dying from cancer, or a young mother killed by a drunken driver, and we start to realize that our problems are insignificant and selfish. Yet financial, weight, or relationship problems are problems and they are real, but they need to be put into perspective. Yet to us, they still feel like giants. So how do we deal with them and solve them?
To each of us, our problems are giants. How do we slay giants? Probably one of the most famous giant killers in history was David (as in David and Goliath from the Bible). What made David able to kill Goliath? David was not a warrior, he was a shepherd. He was bringing food to his brothers who were fighting, when he learned about the giant Philistine named Goliath that no one had the courage to fight. He learned that the King had promised great riches to the man who would kill Goliath. I’m sure that everyone thought David was nuts to think he, a little shepherd, a teenager, could actually defeat Goliath. His brothers were angry with him for thinking he could do it, but he reminded them of how God had given him the ability to defeat a bear, and a lion, and he felt God would not let him down now.
Here’s what Terry Dean has to say about it in his book that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND, “Financial Freedom – A Step-By-Step Practical Guide for Walking in God’s Blessings“:
Did David walk out on the battlefield and tell God to kill Goliath? Did he stand there and pray for God to deal with the giant standing in front of him? No.
…
He simply announced his victory when he got to the battlefield. He said what he was going to do. He said the Lord was going to give him the ability to kill Goliath and take his head. And then he said he was going to kill all the host of the Philistines. He got up there and said just like a teenager, “I’m going to kill you Goliath and then I’m going to kill your whole army too.”There definitely wasn’t any fear in David. People would say he had self-confidence, but that wouldn’t be accurate. We need to come up with a new term to describe believers like David, “God-confidence.” Sometimes we need to quit our praying and step out in faith in what God has already told us to do.
I highly recommend Terry’s book – you can find a link to order it in the left-hand column of this blog, or click here.
David did two key things that resulted in his victory over Goliath: he had faith (confidence) and he took action. Too many of us sit around and wait on an engraved, gold-sealed invitation to do something. We pray for solutions to our problems, yet we never take any action. We look for a sign, or for God to step in and do it for us.
God didn’t kill Goliath, David did. David knew God would help him, but David didn’t wait, he saw the opportunity and took it.
David was also prepared in that he was pretty good with that slingshot. God does not work like the Ronco Magic Slicer Dicer that comes with six steak knives. Don’t expect God to make you a singing star if you’ve never tried to sing. Don’t expect God to give you the ability to swim the English Channel if you’ve never learned how to swim. Don’t expect God to make you wealthy if you’ve never lifted a finger to do anything to bring money into your life. You do your part, and God can and will work miracles with you. Together with God we can do anything.
Here’s a very prophetic sentence from Terry’s book where he’s talking about God, Moses, and the Israelites escaping from Egypt:
Read that a few more times and memorize it.
Are you one of those people who desires something intensely yet when an opportunity presents itself you let fear stop you dead in your tracks? If so, the next time you have an opportunity to shine, remember David. If David can kill a fully armed giant, who was holding a sword and a shield, with only his slingshot, then imagine what you can do.
Imagine you have no fear of failure. Imagine you have no fear of success. See only greatness.
Fear of success? Yes, we all have it. It’s easy to be unknown, it’s easy to be a failure, and it’s easy to be like everyone else. It takes courage to lead. It takes courage to stand up and take a stand for your beliefs. It takes courage to say “I can do this”. It takes courage to say “I deserve this, I’ve worked for his, and I’ve earned this”. It takes courage to swim upstream when everyone else is riding the current downstream.
Look at each problem or goal on your list as a giant that you must slay. Do your homework. Learn the required skills. Pray for wisdom and guidance. Then walk out and face your giant. Don’t wait for an opportunity, start moving and opportunities will present themselves. Take aim and expect greatness.
Until next time,
Fred
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