One of the first times I ever got to minister, I taught about how David’s faith led to his victory over Goliath. As I was teaching through the story in 1 Samuel 17, I came to verse 45 and saw something I had never seen before that has revolutionized my life! Look at 1 Samuel 17:45-46:
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
As I read the verse, I exclaimed, “When our problems talk to us, we need to talk back to them. Don’t let your problem have the final say when it stands between you and receiving a promise of God!”
The crowd gave a strong amen to what I said! As I was listening to the amens I thought, “That was so good that thought had to be from God.” The revelation I shared about speaking to problems impacted the congregation and it really impacted me. I want to share with you what the Lord taught me about the importance of speaking to our problems throughout the rest of this article. I believe it will change your life.
When we look at the context of these verses, David made this powerful statement right after Goliath told him he was going to feed his flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. David believed God would deliver Goliath into his hands, which is why he agreed to fight him, however it’s important to realize this victory wasn’t automatic. The giant who David was appointed to defeat began to talk to David and tried to intimidate him.
David’s response changed the course of history. Many people would have wilted under the pressure of a 10 foot tall giant that put up resistance! They would have said, “God, I thought I was supposed to defeat Goliath and he’s fighting backing back, am I doing something wrong? Did I miss your will? Do I not have faith?”
Look at how David responded. When his problem (Goliath) talked to him, he spoke right back to his problem. David didn’t give an inch! He then ran into battle and defeated his enemy. The moral of the story is NEVER RUN AT A GIANT WITH YOUR MOUTH CLOSED!
Just because God promises us victory, it doesn’t mean there won’t be a fight. In fact, throughout the scripture, Satan often fought back right after God promised his people a great victory. Satan still does this today as he will throw problems our way that will begin to talk to us. These problems include symptoms in our body, financial challenges, and difficult people that cross our path. He uses these challenges to put fear in us so we back off the promises of God.
We would be wise to learn a lesson from David and talk back to our problems that begin to talk to us. When Jesus cursed the fig tree in Mark 11, the Bible says he answered the fig tree. The fact he answered the fig tree means the fig tree must have been talking to him. When our problems talk to us, we must begin to talk back. If we want to walk in all of the promises of God in 2021, let’s purpose in our hearts to NEVER RUN AT OUR GIANTS WITH OUR MOUTHS CLOSED.
If you would like to learn more about the power of words, check out this message I taught at Grace Life Church.
