David in his battle with Goliath showed up and ran forward into the battle. Running forward takes a great deal of courage. If showing up to the battle is the first step of courage, running toward our giant is the second. Fear is one reason we we fail to engage in the battles that need to be fought.
Another reason why many of us lack the courage we need to run forward is our lack of perspective. We see the presence of problems in our lives as a negative. We allow them to discourage us and get in the way of our victories. That is exactly what the enemy intends. He wants to distract us from our destiny through these giants. Often, they are the reason why people don’t reach the fulfilment of their lifelong passions.
“This fear of our problems is a bigger problem than the problem, as Steve Backlund often says. Instead of allowing giants to intimidate us, we need to see our problems the way God does—as stepping stones toward our destiny. When we face and defeat the giants we are called to fight, doing so will propel us forward. If David had not faced Goliath, he would have remained an unknown shepherd boy. Likewise, when we face our giants, God uses our victory over them to push us forward into our calling. Because of this, giants are actually a pivotal part of our ability to succeed. Yet many of us, not realizing the benefit of overcoming giants, try to avoid the problems along our path. We become very good at running away. When we do so, we are only sabotaging our own destiny. Instead, we must learn to approach the problem of these giants in the right way. Too many times, I have seen people who burned with passion and were ready to conquer the world lose their fire because they weren’t ready to face the obstacles on the road to their victory.
Three truths about the nature of problems that will give us perspective so that we will be courageous enough to run forward into battle.
1. All God’s Children have problems
2. Without problems we cannot have success
3. Problems are our friend not our enemy
With this mindset we allow room for solutions to flow from the Holy Spirit. God already has the solution to every problem we face and as his children we have access to those solutions.
adapted from “Giant Slayers’ by Leif Hetland