Proving Our Strength

It is baseball and softball season, and something relatively new has taken center stage over the last few years: replay. In one specific game, umpires were reviewing whether or not a runner was out at first base. The play was shown repeatedly on the video board. If you were a fan of one team, you thought the player was out, but if you were a fan of the other team, you thought the player was safe. Even though everyone was watching the same video, their perspectives differed based on the lens through which they were watching.

We can all struggle proving we are strong enough. This may be the very message we are receiving from others and/or from ourselves. But as followers of Christ, what if we changed the lens through which we look and instead of trying to prove our strength, we became living proof of God’s strength?

The story of David defeating Goliath is one of the Bible’s most beloved stories because it reminds us that we all face giants and it gives us hope that we, too, can defeat them. But the lesson it teaches us is that we defeat our giants not through our strength, but by trusting in God’s strength. As we look at the story, we encounter two different perspectives watching the same Goliath, who threatens the people of Israel and defies the living God. One is focused on their strength, or lack thereof, while the other is focused on the strength of the Almighty God.

“Then the Philistine (Goliath) said, ‘I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!’ When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.” - 1 Samuel 17:10-11

Both King Saul and Israel saw this giant and heard his threats through the lens of self and reacted in fear and refused to fight.

“David said to Saul, ‘Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine … 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.” - 1 Samuel 17:32, 37

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied Him. Today, the Lord will hand you over to me.” - 1 Samuel 17:45-46

Just a shepherd boy, David saw this giant and heard his threats through the lens of God and His strength. He reacted in faith, fought and won.

When we look at our struggles, the broken world around us and the giants in our lives, we can view them through the lens of self, who can be weak, small and fearful, or through the lens of the living God, who is strong, big and all-powerful. As followers of Christ, the same Holy Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives in us (Romans 8:11), and that should give us a whole new perspective – one of love, joy, peace and hope. May our focus not be on the giants in front of us but the living God who died, rose and dwells inside of us … that is proven strength.