“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
The giant known as Goliath was issuing threats that had the whole Hebrew Army paralyzed with fear. 1 Samuel 17:11 says, “When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” The word “dismayed” here is from the Hebrew word “chathath” and it literally means “to terrify.”
Sound familiar? Our adversary the devil loves to terrorize and intimidate us into thinking that we are nothing and that there is no possible way we can live a life of victory. But, David responded completely different by relying on his “Covenant of Grace” with Jehovah and we see this in his reference to Goliath as an “uncircumcised Philistine.” David believed that because he had a covenant with the “Lord of Host” there was no possible way that Goliath could defeat him.
David’s boasting was not in himself, but in Jehovah, because David certainly knew that “man for man” he couldn’t stand up to the Philistine’s greatest warrior, but he saw himself inside the covenant. And, it was from that revelation that he shouted back to Goliath, “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.”
King Saul tried to help David as best he could by offering him his own personal armor, but it was way to big and cumbersome. The truth is, when we’re faced with a giant sized challenge in our lives, sometimes the traditional and familiar things, although good, may not work. Saul’s armor represents mans work and self effort and no amount of self effort or works can defeat a giant like that. As well intended as some may be, there is no man made “one size fits all” solution to the challenges you may be facing.
God led David to pick five smooth stones that day and although those stones had never been proven in battle, they represented the Grace of God. Grace is defined as “God’s unmerited, undeserved favor, blessing and Divine ability and enablement in our lives to do what we can not do within ourselves alone.” David had been in this kind of situation before and it was the Grace of God that had helped him defeat the lion and the bear. David knew that this time God would see him through to victory again.
We see Grace represented in this story in the “five smooth stones.” The number “five” is the number of grace. Although it only took one stone to kill Goliath, David wanted to go into this situation in the full grace and power of God. What is also interesting is that these stones were smooth, just as the grace of God always shows up so smoothly in our lives. God’s grace can cause any situation to take a smooth turnaround. His Grace can smooth out the areas in our lives that have otherwise been rough, hard and rigid. When God’s Grace is received in any situation, it will smooth out the circumstances and allow us to walk in hope and victory.
I am learning that no matter what giant I may be facing at times in my life it is only the grace of God that brings me victory. It’s easy to feel your heart grip with terror and dismay when faced with a “giant sized” challenge, but as we keep our eyes on Jesus we will receive the full measure of grace we need.
Today, receive the grace of God and let it be your real, tangible, and true source of victory over any giant you may be facing in your business, workplace, or life and just like with Goliath, you will see that giant fall to the ground.