Even before a word is on my tongue behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Psalm 139:4-5
Giants We are in a war. Just like David with Goliath, we have giants attacking us on all fronts every day. They are out to get us at all costs and they are ferocious, relentless, and seem to be an insurmountable challenge to defeat. They are bent on defeating us first. Some common giants are addiction, anger, anxiety, depression, fear, rejection, and even comfort. We cannot fight these giants in our own power, but our heavenly Father is a giant slayer. He desires for us to be free from our giants and in His power, we can be free.
The Giant of FearOf all the giants that can attack us, this is one of the sneakiest. Fear is an unseen giant, no tangible evidence of it exists. It exists only in our heads and hearts. That can make it even harder to pinpoint and get help. Fear is the giant that leads to many responses and often, it is difficult to see that the underlying problem is really fear.
Fear can get a foothold in our lives and steal every bit of joy that God has planned for us. If you are always fearful, it is impossible to live free. Fear can cause us to be trapped in its snare. Much of our fear comes from the unknown. We don’t really know what is coming, so we imagine all kinds of things – undesirable things that we cannot stop. It will cause us to be very ineffective for the Kingdom of God and it will rob us of all peace, sleep, and rest. It distorts our vision and steals our praise. Living in fear is crippling and exhausting.
When fear takes hold of us we have to remember one thing – Jesus has already defeated this giant! In his book Goliath Must Fall, Loui Giglio says:
Right up front, let’s remind ourselves of this powerful truth: the giant of fear can taunt us, but it doesn’t have the ultimate power. Jesus has the ultimate power. Fear may seek to obscure our view of God and crush our confidence. Fear may get a grip on our throats and try to choke the very breath out of us. Fear may yell insults and try to convince us that we’re going to live with this giant the rest of our lives. But the giant of fear is already dead. It’s done for. It was conquered by Jesus on the cross.In the name of Jesus, the giant of fear must fall. -Giglio, Louie. Goliath Must Fall (p. 55).
Bravery and courage are not the opposites of fear. Faith is the flip-side of fear. It is the anecdote. Fear can come calling but Jesus has all the power over our fears. Keeping our hearts focused on Him and what He has done for us will help us. In our faith, we can trust that God is bigger than the giant of fear.
God loves us so much and He does not want us to live under the weight of fear. The giant of fear crushes and steals our freedom in Christ. God desires us to have peace. He desires us to live in our faith and trust Him in all things. Keeping our eyes on Him and listening to His voice will help us remember that God is able. He goes before us, beside us and behind us. He has got us. And when in doubt, praise! Sing out His praises and promises and bring your faith to life.
I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken Psalm 16:8 ESV.
