2nd Peter 1:16-18
16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

Four Steps to Defeating the Giants

You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty …. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands …. And the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. - 1 Samuel 17:45-46 NIV

How do you defeat the giants that are keeping you from being the man God wants you to be? How do you defeat the fears that keep you from being the woman God wants you to be?

If you want to be a person of great faith with a great dream and a great life work, you do the very things that David did to defeat the giants of delay, discouragement, disapproval, and doubt.

1. Remember how God has helped you in the past. David says in 1 Samuel 17:37, “The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” (NLT) When you remember the ways that God has helped you in the past, it gives you confidence for the future.
2. Use the tools that God has given you now. David used the tools that God provided that utilized his strengths: “Then Saul gave David his own armor …. ‘I can’t go in these,’ he protested to Saul. ‘I’m not used to them.’ So David took them off again. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag” (1 Samuel 17:38-40a). Don’t wait for something you don’t have — money, education, or connections. Use the tools God has already given you to face your giants with confidence.
3. Ignore the dreambusters. Later in life, when others were speaking against him, David had to encourage himself in the Lord: “David was seriously worried, for in their bitter grief for their children, his men began talking of killing him. But David took strength from the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6 TLB). When you encourage yourself in the Lord, it’s not just a positive mental attitude. There is a bedrock trust in God’s grace, provision, security, and power.
4. Expect God to help you for his glory. David stormed the battlefield, shouting, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty …. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands …. And the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45-46 NIV).

I made this decision when I was a young man. On the mountains of Northern California one night, I got down on my knees and said, “God, I’m not the smartest guy, the best educated, or the most talented. But I’m going to trust you. And I will do anything, anytime, anywhere in faith, even when it doesn’t make sense to me.” And what an adventure my life has been!

I stand up and speak to a crowd every week that is about five times bigger than the town I grew up in. I’m a country boy — with a slingshot.

God will use anybody who will trust him and expect to be used by him — not because of who you are, but for his glory.

© Rick Warren

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
– Matthew 10:42

Jesus is telling us that the little things count! We often hear of doing grand things for God, but it is not the size as much as the intent that gets God’s attention. So don’t let the small, seemingly mundane opportunities go unnoticed. We will be rewarded for actions that may seem small to us, but they are big to God.

1st John 2:27-29
27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

Ecclesiastes 7:9
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

Don’t Be Surprised

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. - 1 Peter 4:12

As a pastor, I spend a lot of time interacting with people who are in seasons of suffering. Every week I meet a few who tell me through tear-filled eyes or broken speech, ‘Pray for me, I lost my job…or the doctor says…or my marriage is in trouble . .. or my teenager is ...’ The specific trial will be different, but the questions will be the same “Why has God allowed…?” or even better, “How do I get through this?”

Truth is, God told us not to be surprised when suffering hits. He ordained it for His own Son; He works through the trials to grow and shape us. First Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.”

Most of us go through life thinking that we can dodge the difficult thing; illness, divorce, loss might get the other person but it’s not going to get me. Then all of a sudden whack, it’s our turn and we’re devastated—not just by ‘the thing’ but by our lack of emotional and spiritual preparation.

Are you in that season of suffering right now? Suffering pushes everything else aside and prompts us to say, “I want to live my life in a way that honors and pleases God.” We’ve spent enough time living like the world. Reebok says, “Life is short; play hard.” God’s Word says, “Life is short; stop playing.” We’re to live for God’s purpose. Suffering makes that very real.

Some people suffer the same thing you’re experiencing right now and they become awesome for God. Other people go through the very same trial and become hard and angry for the rest of their life. I’ve said it over and again, the same sun that melts ice also hardens clay. The choice is really ours.

Don’t be surprised when suffering come. In fact, expect it and plan for it. There is no better time than this moment to prove the promises of God.

© James MacDonald

2nd John 1:3-5
3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

Matthew 11:28
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

We have an opportunity to extend our family ties beyond biology and into God’s spiritual DNA. Christians are not just church members—God wants us to regard each other as brothers and sisters, and therefore treat each other accordingly.

Lord, You love us with an extravagant love,
but so often we don’t trust you in the crisis.
Help us to learn and appreciate what you have,
everything we need—and so much more.

Psalm 37:39
“But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in time of trouble.”