Have Faith in the One who Rescues
“I’m sure we’ve all heard the saying ‘God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers’, but what do we do when we feel weak?,” asks Hazzy Redgard. She delves into what to do when we feel overwhelmed
Have you ever felt out of your depth? Have you ever felt like what God has put on your plate is just too much? I certainly have, and today we’re going to look at a character in the Bible who didn’t seem like much but ended up being one of Israel’s mightiest conquerors.
“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. 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. All those gathered here 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.”
This scripture shows us that it’s not about what you have, your skill or your talent, it’s about God. David was just a shepherd boy, he came at Goliath with a sling and stone, yet God was victorious. It doesn’t matter how big your enemy is and how small you may be, because you are coming in the name of the Lord Almighty. The battle is the Lord’s. It is now our battle; we are fighting for God and God will use us for His triumphant victory. God’s victory has nothing to do with you and everything to do with God. The Israelites lost battles when they were in sin and won when they were righteous because God wasn’t with them when they were in sin. It’s not about you or your skill or your talent, it’s about God. David had a tremendous faith is God because he was completely God-focused. David had complete confidence that God would give him victory over Goliath.
“The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
David was known as a courageous warrior, and protector of what needed to be protected.
David had faith that he could kill Goliath because he had killed enemies that were greater than him before, like the lion and the bear. He recognised that God had saved them from both of them before and that God would now save him from Goliath. David was a shepherd and his job was to look after the sheep. He was willing to lay his life down for the sheep. He fought lions and bears even though he knew he didn’t stand a fighting chance – and God rescued him and his sheep. David says the Lord rescued him instead of helping him defeat the enemy. This means he knew he was going into a very dangerous situation, and he was vulnerable and didn’t stand a chance. He knew what the odds were, and he knew that he was destined to lose. Therefore, he relied on God to rescue him. David wasn’t trying to be a hero, he saw himself as someone who needed God to rescue him. And God came through every time. David said that God would rescue him from Goliath. David had faith to fight an impossible fight and fully believe that God would rescue him. David gives God all the glory, by saying that God rescued him, he is implying that it was God that killed his enemies.
We can do the impossible when we believe that it is God’s battle and not ours and that God will rescue us. If you’re facing a situation that seems impossible: have faith that God will rescue you. If your enemy is far greater than you: have faith that God will rescue you.
My impossible situation right now is university. I started a masters degree in September and it is much more challenging than I believed it would be. My mentality going into university was that I would get a 1st for the Lord. By nature, I am not an academic, it is by God’s grace that I made it through my undergraduate degree and got a good grade. Now that I am seeing just how difficult my masters degree is, I’m starting to lose faith. I’m beginning to feel like the rest of the Israelite army who quaked in fear in the face of Goliath (1 Samuel 17:23-24) and less like David. I stopped seeing God and started looking at my own strengths and weaknesses. When you take your eyes off God, you will fail. But now I have faith that God will rescue me from my masters degree by helping me to achieve a great grade.
What is your impossible situation right now? What is your Goliath and are you facing it with the faith that God will rescue you? I urge you today to have faith in God that He will deliver you. This is not easy at all – but if young David can face a giant, then you can face whatever life throws at you.
For help in studying the Bible or to join local or online Bible study groups, please contact Hazzy via email or Instagram.
Email: 1hazzyr@googlemail.com | Instagram: hazzyredgard