Focus on God not Goliath

As the interim pastor for Crossroads Church in Gardnerville, I have been leading our church through “Life Lessons from King David.” One of the key lessons was how David chose to focus on God instead of the giant, Goliath. It’s not that David didn’t understand the threats of the enemy, it’s just that he gave greater thought, energy, and priority to the God that he served. In I Samuel 17:45-46 we read the following: “David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.’” I

like what Max Lucado says about this verse in his book Facing the Giants, “We focus on the giant and we stumble – we focus on God and the giant tumbles.”

When we focus on our personal Goliath, it only increases in strength when we give him (it) more attention than God. We can be consumed with the giant instead of the God who can help us overcome the giant. Identifying the problem will not solve the problem. It’s only when we focus on the solution and for David, the solution was God. When you read the two verses above, you will note there are four references to God: “The name of the Lord Almighty,” “The God of the armies of Israel,” “The Lord will deliver you,” and “The whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.” Clearly, David had incredible confidence in the person and power of God to help defeat the giant and deliver all the Israelites from the intimidation of the enemy.

As a personal application to David’s example, I invite you to consider what your focus is on. Is it a challenge, obstacle, emotion, critical personal, or negative situation? Would you transfer your attention to God, so that he gets more time, thought, attention and energy toward your challenge. Focusing of God instead of the obstacle not only gives the Lord an opportunity to deliver but keeps you from being depressed with life’s challenges. Remember, “Focus on God and the giant tumbles, focus on the giant and you stumble.”

Today, let’s focus on the goodness, love, power, and provision of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Pastor Donny Crandell is interim pastor for Crossroads Church in Gardnerville