When you read the story of David and Goliath in the Bible, one of the first things you notice is that the Israelite army was “dismayed and terrified” of the giant (1 Samuel 17:11). Goliath started each day with taunts and ended each day with taunts. As time went by, all that demoralising and diminishing had an effect on the Israelites. They began to believe, in spite of their best efforts, something undesirable was going to happen to them . . . their defeat.

This is basically the definition of fear—the belief that something is out there that is going to get you that you can’t do anything to stop. This fear can manifest itself in many different ways—anxiety, nervousness, worry, stress, dread, hopelessness, panic, to name a few—and can spring up in your life from a variety of sources
Fear is a relentless giant. And it is one that must fall through the power of Jesus.
The solution to facing the giant of fear is not determination, but faith in Jesus. It isn’t so much saying, “Fear, go away,” but confessing, “I have confidence that Jesus is bigger than this giant and has already defeated it.”

In Romans 10:17, Paul states, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (NKJV). When you see and hear God in and through his Word, the Word allows you to see and hear that He is bigger than your giant. That builds up your faith, and your faith in turn becomes the stone that shuts up the giant that’s already defeated.

So today, identify the source of your fear and place it in the hands of Jesus. Remind yourself that with God all things are possible (see Matthew 19:26) and he can overcome this giant. Remember that Jesus has promised to always be with you (see Hebrews 13:5).

Name what is keeping you up at night, and then offload those cares to the One who has promised to care for you (see 1 Peter 5:7).
As you do this, even though the cause of your fear may not be removed, you will be actively relegating fear to its proper place: into the hands of Christ.

Have a great week,
Chaplain Phil
(adapted from Louie Giglio)