1 Samuel 16-17

These chapters cover the story of David and Goliath. I believe the Lord really spoke to me what I desperately needed to be reminded of this morning.

"David said to Saul, 'let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.' Saul replied, ' You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.' But David said to Saul, 'Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep form its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by it's hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.'

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...All those gathered will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands.'"

We talked yesterday about how both of us have lost the joy of the Lord in our lives. And this doesn't happen all of the sudden. We have allowed little complaints here and there go unnoticed and that led to even more complaints, and eventually we found ourselves feeling so burdened by this life and our situations. Complaining is a sign of our fear and lack of trust in Lord our God. We don't like to admit that, but that's what it boils down to. If we trust and know that we are in God's hands and that he will meet all our needs, we have no reason to complain about anything. Unfortunately, it is our nature to be this way.

But let's be reminded this day that we do not have to live this way, and that in God, there is the awesome power to overcome our natural ways. No situation is too big for God. David had so much confidence in God. I don't believe he was being arrogant. He trusted and knew that God was with him when he faced Goliath. He said to Saul that he has defeated lions and bears, and that Goliath is no different. I know we have experienced God's help in slaying the "lions and bears" in our lives. Yet when something bigger, like Goliath, (at least, in our eyes) comes along, we forget and doubt the power of God.

Let's remember this day that the battles in our lives is not won by our own strength but by God. And let's be reminded that any sort of complaining, no matter how harmless it may seem, can cause us to lose trust in God. We are privileged to be able to call God our Father in heaven. May we truly praise him this day and allow him to renew the joy in our lives.