Goliath and You

 

The Story of David and Goliath is extremely well known to most if not all the earth, regardless of one's beliefs. Goliath was a descendant of the Nephilim—the offspring of the “sons of God” and their human wives. 

The Israelites failed to wipe out the Anakites—a subset of the Nephilim—in their conquest of the Promised Land, and so the Anakites survived in Gath and its surrounding cities, eventually becoming what we know as the Philistines. Goliath was a Philistine warrior from Gath—a powerful symbol of Israel’s previous failures.

Like the Israelis, we all have, have had or will have a Goliath in our life and will have to face it someday.

A Goliath could be anything - a debt, failing faith, a family tragedy, a life threat, a mortgage, addiction, losses, or so many things this world has to offer. David's story teaches us two things - a. It is possible to defeat Goliath no matter how big and strong he is. And 2. the way to do it.

David was in constant communication with God. Maybe through self-talk, through prayer through thoughts. When he killed the lion and the bear, think about how. Who helped him.

An ancient document found at Qumran in Palestine claims that David wrote over 4000 songs. Tradition attributes 73 of the 150 poems of the biblical book Psalms to him as well. Psalm 144 depicts David playing the ten-stringed lyre, which some even suggest he invented. David communicated with God through his music as well.

Because of this, David did not need to pray before fighting Goliath because he was in constant communication with God! He has a prayer in His heart and the strength from being in constant communication with God.

So here seems to be the key. Like David, we do need to take time out to prayer but equally, so we need to be in constant thoughts in communication with God.

Choices

It is easy to be distracted by various choices we tend to make in our daily lives. What clothes we will wear, what will be do, what will we eat, what TV show to watch, a.d so on.

However, the primary choice we need to make is something we keep putting off - to some time in the future: Choosing God.

What does it mean to choose God? Firstly, choosing God does not simply mean that one believes in God. Choosing God means choosing to live a life following Gods word, His instructions and the way of life He has specified. This becomes the primary choice and once we make this choice, everything else is secondary.

Deuteronomy 30, 19-20 tells us that choosing Him is choosing to live in this life as well as the next. Choosing Him and walking in His ways leads to blessings for generations; it brings to life His promises specially where He says His thoughts are not to harm us but to prosper us. 

But choosing God involves overcoming the world's biggest hurdle: Ourself. We are our own enemy.

Choosing Him means we have to choose His way and not our own way. This is where many believers fail- unable to overcome the self, we make God secondary to our self , our self worship and our self choices. Choosing God means first we have to stop choosing us and overcome ourself first.

God has already chosen us. When will we choose to choose Him? Have we chosen Him?

The Last Day

We really don't know the future, no matter what we read or believe. The fact is: we don't know about tomorrow, and as the song goes, in reality we just live from day to day.

How does one accept this reality? Suppose we knew that today would be our last day here on earth, what would one do? How would we spend it? 

Surely, we would make each second count, mend broken relationships, seek forgiveness for things we know we have done wrong talk to people we may have ignored, smile at a stranger and many things we wanted to do but put on the backburner. Take time to appreciate the people in our life and let them know how much they mean to us. We won't obsess about trivial inconveniences, as we are wont to do today, or ruminate about small affronts to our ego. We wouldn't brag, as there is nothing to brag about- what we had is about to become someone else's; we wouldn't gossip. We would focus on what matters. We would desperately believe that there will be something after death and pray to the Almighty. 

Or we may agonize, dread and so want to be spared.

Believe me, each moment will be more precious than gold would be if it was the last day. 

The point is since we do not know about tomorrow, should we not live as if each day is our last? Praise and thank the Almighty for one more day and proceed to live as if there would be no other, live in the joy of the moment, not creating a bucket list but cleaning the slate to be ready to meet the maker.