The triumph of the boy David over Goliath, as given in the seventeenth chapter of I Samuel, is full of lessons for the good soldiers of this day in overcoming the Philistines of the flesh that seem to antagonize their peace and spiritual growth. One of the illusory foes they have to meet is that of worry, defined as "a state of perplexing care, anxiety, or annoyance." Even from a human standpoint there is no good whatever in this visionary giant. One surely does not help the person or the problem that he is worrying about; he in fact only harms himself. The alert Christian Scientist gives no place to worry, for he has absolute reliance on the ever-present omnipotence of God, and this trust assures him that "one on God's side is a majority," no matter how overwhelming the force of the enemy may appear.
When David came from the sheepfold to the camp of Saul, he found all the people in a state of anxiety about Goliath. Forgetting the victories that divine Love had already given them, they saw only this puffed-up giant, heard only his boastful words, when their gratitude should have reminded them that "all things work together for good to them that love God." David did not see defeat, but victory; realizing the presence and power of God, supreme good, he reflected and manifested this power, trusting wholly in the Lord of hosts. He knew that the cause was God's, and that with Him victory was certain; and so, acknowledging His presence, even in the face of what seemed to the onlookers certain defeat, he demanded, "Is there not a cause?" Surely the Christian Scientist understands that his cause is God's, and if in that cause he does his part, he can rightly know that the overcoming is already accomplished, whether there is immediate evidence of it or not, since he has proofs unnumbered that "with God all things are possible."
Another imaginary "Goliath" that sometimes crosses our path is discouragement. The army, as David found it, seemed to be overwhelmed with a fear that blinded them to all thought of man's dominion. The youthful champion, remembering the lion and the bear which he had slain, knew that only God had strengthened his arm and given him the victory. He was sure, therefore, that no foe could stand before the power of the Almighty, and this assurance made it a joy for him to go forth to meet the enemy, that he might prove it to be nothing, an illusion of mortal sense without life or mind.
