By Sarah Roberts, FCA Atlanta Pro and Elite Director
It is baseball and softball season, and something relatively new has taken center stage over the last few years: replay. In one specific game, umpires were reviewing whether or not a runner was out at first base. The play was shown repeatedly on the video board. If you were a fan of one team, you thought the player was out, but if you were a fan of the other team, you thought the player was safe. Even though everyone was watching the same video, their perspectives differed based on the lens through which they were watching.
We can all struggle proving we are strong enough. This may be the very message we are receiving from others and/or from ourselves. But as followers of Christ, what if we changed the lens through which we look and instead of trying to prove our strength, we became living proof of God’s strength?
The story of David defeating Goliath is one of the Bible’s most beloved stories because it reminds us that we all face giants and it gives us hope that we, too, can defeat them. But the lesson it teaches us is that we defeat our giants not through our strength, but by trusting in God’s strength. As we look at the story, we encounter two different perspectives watching the same Goliath, who threatens the people of Israel and defies the living God. One is focused on their strength, or lack thereof, while the other is focused on the strength of the Almighty God.
“Then the Philistine (Goliath) said, ‘I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!’ When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.” - 1 Samuel 17:10-11
Both King Saul and Israel saw this giant and heard his threats through the lens of self and reacted in fear and refused to fight.
Read more about what it looks like to prove our strength in dependence on God.
-FCA-