The valley of Elah

Who can ever tire of the story of David and Goliath? Gathered in the valley of Elah two opposing armies stood in battle array seeking the destruction of the other. The most unlikely hero emerges as the young man David, son of Jesse, steps on the stage of courage and vanquishes the giant. Why would David consider such a battle winnable? As but a ruddy youth he stands before a behemoth of a man trained in the art of warfare. Insulting words of fear spew from the mouth of Goliath but David stands firm and prepares. The Philistine draws near and it is David who runs toward the imposing figure of a monster bent on his destruction. Putting his hand in his bag and taking out a single stone, David slings the missile to the forehead of Goliath and fells him to the ground. Taking the champions own sword David cuts the head of the Philistine off. Victory of a David over a Goliath.

The Philistine giant had longed taunted the Israelite soldiers. No doubt he boasted to his comrades how weak and scared the followers of Jehovah were. They trembled at the sight of this man and cowered in fear when he sounded forth his cries of defiance. Goliath was not conquered by an army but by the heart of courage borne in the life of the son of Jesse. Some wonderful lessons come from the valley of Elah:

1. We all have our own valley of Elah. There are challenges to our faith that cause us fear and trepidation. Going into the valley is fraught with danger and we may tremble when we see the giants that live in that valley. Their voices send chills of dread through our bones. But they remain in the valley and the only way to defeat them is to face them - on their turf.
2. This was not the first time David dealt with adversity. He told King Saul that as a shepherd boy he had learned to trust in the power of God. David said, "when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." (1 Samuel 17:34-36). David cut the giant down to size. We need to face our adversities and cut them down to size.
3. David did not rely on the wisdom of man to win the victory. Saul offered his armor but it was not tried and tested. Besides, David understood that Goliath could only be brought down through the power of God. Trusting in God means when the days are difficult we still rely on God to deliver us and not ourselves. We can sometimes love God so much and trust Him so little. The Lord does real good when it comes to forgiveness of sins but for the everyday things of life we don't trust him. No - trusting in the Lord means the quiet days in green pastures and the troubled days in the valley of Elah.
4. The truth about fighting Goliath was evident from the beginning. The army of Israel looked upon Goliath as so massive they could not defeat him; David looked at Goliath and thought, "He is so big how can I miss him?" And he didn't.
5. Finally, David did not wait for Goliath to come to him. He ran towards the giant and defeated him. Defense was not the option in fighting something that large. This required facing it head on and on the head. David knew he had the army of God fighting for him and with God's power a great victory was done that day for God's people. Facing our giants takes a great deal of faith but when we overcome our fears victory is given.

Final thought: I have to wonder two things about Goliath. What was he thinking right before that stone hit him between the eyes ..... and what did he think five seconds after he died. The answers to both questions are world apart - literally.