"GIVE me a man, that we may fight together," Goliath, the Philistine giant, shouted to the armies of Israel. And Saul, the king of Israel, and all his men heard these words and were "greatly afraid." We all know the story. It is recorded in the Bible in the seventeenth chapter of the book of I Samuel.
For forty days the army of Israel, drawn up in battle array against the Philistines, was shaken with fear over the giant's taunts. But David, the young shepherd lad, slew the giant. "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield," David said to him, "but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts. . . . This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand." David, trusting wholly in God, was untouched by Goliath's size, his massive, showy armor, and his hateful threats. And he quickly destroyed him with a sling and a stone. The Philistines then fled.
It is a wonderful record of confidence in God. It is also a record of confidence in oneself, in one's God-bestowed ability to do whatever needs to be done to overcome the evil that may be confronting one. David was unafraid. It made no difference to him how terrible the error appeared to be, nor how long it had been manifesting itself; it was nothing in the presence of Almighty God.
