I know blog night is a night late, but truth be told, I have had a stressful week so far. It is hard to encourage others when you feel like you need encouraging. That is the type of person I want to be though. I want to be the type of believer who knows God has a plan even when it seems literally everything has gone wrong. I want to trust Him in the midst of the storm. I want to be the person that can point others to God even when I have battles in my own life.
If you are dealing with a difficult situation, you are not alone. Even the girl who writes a Christian blog has those days. I do not ever want this blog to paint the picture that I always have everything together because the opposite is true. I make mistakes, I get scared, and I complain way more than I should. The fact that I am a Christian does not automatically mean I have all the answers and bad things never happen to me. It just means that I have a God who I know will handle it for me.
If you are familiar with the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, then you know the type of God we serve. Basically what happens is David, a little shepherd boy, is given the challenge of going to battle against Goliath, a giant. Goliath most likely had trained for years and was experienced in war. No doubt, he had faith in himself and his abilities. David, on the other hand, had faith in Someone bigger: God Almighty. While David had no war combat experience, he had defended his sheep against a lion and a bear through the strength of the Lord. While he knew he defeated these wild animals, it was not his own capabilities that reassured him; it was guarantee that God would take care of Him just like He always had. David knew of God's faithfulness and clung to it. To sum up the ending, David won the battle with just a slingshot and a stone. God can use anything, big or small, to be victorious. Even when everyone doubted him and even laughed, David trusted God more than he valued the opinion and approval of man.
I think striving for the approval of man is a lot of times what gets us down and out. Everyone desires to be liked: it is just human nature. What we should not do, however, is place our entire identity of what other people think about us. This is a tactic used by the enemy to destroy friendships, relationships, and your self esteem. We have to know that we are made in the image of God and fearfully and wonderfully made. This fact from God's Word should mean more to us than the mere opinion of man.
All of us have a Goliath in our lives. Maybe it is a breakup, the death of a family member, the loss of a job, or a bad doctor's report. No matter what we face, God will be with us. Jesus promised us that the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, would come to us. Spend more time with God this week and ask Him to reveal to you what He wants for you in this season. Everything we go through has a purpose and will lead us closer to becoming who God is calling us to be. Just hold on, He will give you the strength to overcome the giant with something as simple as a sling and a stone.
