“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
(2 Corinthians 10:4)
‘Goliaths’ come in diverse forms, but it matters little how they present themselves because the Word of God says “For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15) Again in Ecclesiastes 9:11 we read: “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong.” It is “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Speaking to his mountain [problem] Zerubbabel said to it; “What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.” (Zechariah 4:6-7) Any mountain that we magnify will become one in our eyes; anyone that we speak harsh words to will become a plain.
Young David knew this, therefore he did not mince his words speaking to Goliath. “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” (1 Samuel 17:45) Sometimes, it depends on how you perceive your mountain. If like the army of Israel you see Goliath as insurmountable that is exactly what the obstacle will become.
When the Children of Israel were required to do a reconnaissance tour of the Promised Land, Canaan, they returned with the report that they looked like grasshoppers in the sight of the Anaks (its inhabitants) whom they found there. Imagine that they were the ones saying this about themselves. How the cobbler sees you that is how he will treat you. They failed to fathom what God said about Canaan to Moses. “The Lord said to Moses; Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.” (Numbers 13:1) The mission was just an exploratory mission; but they came back with an evil report that deflated the spirits of the Israelites who later believed that God did not like them and therefore wanted them crushed by these giants. The battle is the Lord’s; the victory is ours.
In this world we are bound to come against obstacles that the devil will put on our way. There are mountains we will have to encounter, but let us not be weary or faint; the Lord has given us the power to deal with them. We are reminded by Jesus who when addressing His disciples said: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b) We should not walk around our problems, challenges and trials; rather we should face them upfront. Jesus requires us to speak to them and they will be removed and be cast into the sea. (Matthew 21:21)
Have you considered this option lately or have you been accommodating your mountains? They have a bad habit of staying put if you do not exercise your God-given authority of giving them notice to leave.
A case in point was when the Prophet Elijah was unhappy with King Ahab for “You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals.” (1Kings 18:18) And so the prophet asked the King to arrange for a duel. “Bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” (1 Kings 18:19) They were summoned to meet at Mount Carmel. Each party was to slaughter a bull and place on the altar and pray to each of their gods to consume the sacrifice. No matches were to be used.
Prophet Elijah rebuked them. “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow Him.” (Verse 21) Then you will call on your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire – He is God.” (verse 24) The prophets of Baal were to take the lead. From morning to the time of the evening prayer, god Baal did not respond to their cry. When it was Elijah’s turn, he took twelve stones and built an altar. Then he ordered that the altar be soaked with twelve barrels of water until the wood was drenched and the trenches overflowing. Then he prayed: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known that You are God and that I am your servant and have done all these things at Your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You are turning their backs again.” (verse 36-37) At this, fire fell down from heaven and burnt down everything. It even licked up the water in the drenches as well.
Goliaths are a test of our strength and resilience to withstand the fiery darts of the devil. They may look like ordinary happenings but remember that anything that is not of God is of the devil. Believe it or not, the Bible states categorically that we are fighting against principalities and powers in high places. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) These forces manifest their powers in the world in the realm of the occult, but God’s power is unequalled. He is Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent altogether.
Ask Dagon the god of the Philistines after they had captured the Ark of the Covenant and “carried it into Dagon’s temple and put it beside their god.” In the morning they found Dagon on his face literally bowing to God’s presence. They picked him up but the next day it was back on its face this time around its head and hands had been broken off. So they had to find a way of returning the Ark to the Israelites.
Pitch any principality against God Jehovah and the results are a foregone conclusion. God said to Moses to tell the Children of Israel that He would fight for them against the Egyptians. He did and Pharaoh lost when a whole army drowned in the Red Sea.
Jesus is saying to you today “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) The choice is yours.