Stop letting Goliath punk you.
"And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”
- 1 Samuel 17:44-46 (New King James Version)
I wrote the bones of this week's message months ago when I was in the midst of a personal financial crisis and, until now, never felt led to share it. But now, with Corona (aka Goliath) in our midst, I believe this is the moment God intended for me to share these thoughts. So here goes:
Stop letting Goliath punk you, talk back.
In this famous chapter of scripture, Goliath had been coming out day and night for forty days straight talking trash to the Israelites. Forty days! Day AND night!? Excuse me but from day one the Israelites should have been like hell. naw. What we NOT gon' do is let you sit up here and pump our eyes and ears with garbage while we just sit here and take it. Nope! But that's exactly what they were doing until David came along like, umm wayment, who is this uncircumcised Philistine and who told him this was ok because it is absolutely not. And that's the same spirit we have to have, especially in times like these.
Just like David, as soon as we hear intimidation rise up, we gotta clap back at it.
Trust me, I know that's easier said than done, especially when you're already feeling low in your faith tank. In my situation for example, my finances had gotten so bad after leaving my job that I was getting mail every day that reminded me of the dire straights I was in. From threats of foreclosure to predatory debt consolidation scams, I got depressed every time I went to the mailbox. I was definitely acting more like the Israelites than David in this situation for several weeks.
One day it got so bad that after I opened all the mail I just cried and felt depressed for the rest of the week. Thank God He gave me a pastor that got me right that Sunday by reminding me that God is bigger than these bills. I came home, put all that mail in a pile and, as crazy as it sounds, I spoke to them thangs with the word of God. And guess what? I got out of that crisis. God delivered as always; I just had to rise up and take hold of the authority that He gave me so I could get my peace back.
You have authority over your bills too, the Corona virus & its affects, and whatever else may be affecting your peace right now. Take it! Tell intimidation what it's NOT gon' do. Whatever is causing you to doubt and fear, talk back to it! And don't just talk back to it with your words, use God's words! That's where your power over it lies and that's how you'll defeat your Goliath every time.
Still hungry? Eat more //
Romans 10:17 → It's a biblical principle that faith comes by hearing so consume the Word of God HEAVY right now; you will naturally believe whatever you keep hearing more of. Remind yourself that God is bigger, still able and more powerful than anything in this world that's coming against you in this moment. (Here's a few verses to get you going: 1 John 4:4, Jeremiah 32:27, Matthew 19:26 + this message was really good if you haven't had a chance to listen to it yet from my previous email)
Matthew 4:1-11 → Study how Jesus used God's word to combat the lies the enemy was trying to get Him to believe.
Here's how I used God's word to talk back to my bills that day* //
You’re coming at me with threats of foreclosure, lowering my credit score and consolidation scams, but I’m coming at you in the name of the God of my Savior Jesus Christ who you have challenged. You didn’t challenge me, you challenged Him. This day He will hand you over to me. And everyone will know that my God does not save through sword or spear. This is His battle and He will hand you over to me. [Adapted from 1 Samuel 17:44-47]
*NOTE: of course I used practical measures to improve my situation as well, but this helped me regain perspective & re-establish my faith that God would help me.