Facing Our Giant

I'm sure most of us have heard the biblical story of David and Goliath. How a young shepherd boy took out the Philistine giant right to the forehead armed only with a slingshot and stone. How did he show such bravery while the entire army of Israel hid behind the rocks quaking in their sandals? Day after day, the Philistine would step forward and taunt the Israelites, yelling for them to choose a soldier to face him one on one. None dared take up the challenge. Except David! It wasn't that he had some supernatural power within himself. Rather, it infuriated him that this uncircumcised pagan dared to reproach the name of the God of Israel. His zeal for the honor of Yehovah was so strong, courage welled up in him canceling out all fear. He had no doubt that he would prevail.

Who is our Goliath? None other than the god of this age, Satan, the devil. He is the enemy of God and therefore, the enemy of God's creation, mankind. Scripture tells us that he continually roams the earth, seeking whom he may devour. He will stop at nothing to take us out. The problem is we all have a proclivity to sin, going all the way back to the garden and sin separates us from God. It's the age-old battle between good and evil. We tend to give Satan an open door to attack us. Without a relationship with God, we are at the mercy of the evil one. He is our protection if we stay close to Him.

Satan's ability to subdue us is through our thoughts or emotions and our behavior apart from God. When we allow wrong thinking to cloud our minds, such as feelings of unworthiness or self-hatred, what follows are depression, anxiety, hopelessness, uncontrolled anger, to name a few. This often turns into addictive behavior, as many have turned off all emotions and sought worldly pleasures to satisfy their hurting souls, i.e. substance abuse, adultery, multiple sex partners, pornography, gambling, stealing, even violence. 

There's no end to what Satan can do to someone who is lacking a relationship with the Creator. This is war and many are POW's. The good news is that Jesus has power over the enemy and He has the keys to the prison. If you find yourself in the crosshairs of Satan's demented plan to destroy humankind, it's past time to seek the only one who can save you and give you a new life, Jesus Christ. He doesn't care where you've been or what you have done. The moment you accept Him as your Savior, the slate is clean, you are a new creature, the old is passed away, all things are new. You are now ready to learn what life truly is all about.