7 Keys To Defeating Giants In Your Life

WRITTEN BY HAROLD HERR ING. .

Are you facing any giants today?

How do your giant(s) compare with Goliath?
1 Samuel 17:4 says:
And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of
Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
Based on the King James Version of the Bible six cubits and a span would make
Goliath over nine feet tall.
When you consider the average height of a man in Biblical times was five feet three
inches. . Goliath was truly a giant.
1 Samuel 17:5 says:
And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of
mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
According to my historical research Goliaths helmet weighed roughly 66 pounds
and his brass coat weighed roughly 175 pounds.
Can you imagine your 9 neighbor carrying a 175 pound backpack and a 66 pound
Yankees hat?
1 Samuel 17:7 says:
And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed
six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
The tip of Goliaths spear. . .not the entire spear. . .but just the tip weighed
approximately 20 pounds. Pick up a 20 pound bag of potatoes and imagine that
weight on the end of a spear!
Without question, Goliath was a fierce-looking, trash-talking, massive killing machine
who struck terror in the hearts of his opponents.
Have you faced any Goliaths today?
Im not talking about a natural Goliath.

Is living from paycheck to paycheck . . . barely making ends meet. . .a giant in your
life?
Is being unemployed or under-employed . . . a giant in your life?
Is having someone you love addicted to drugs or booze . . .a giant in your life?
Is having your spouse unfaithful. . .either in word or deed. . .a giant in your life?
How are you dealing with your giants? Are you making the typical response?
What was Davids first response when he saw and heard Goliath insult Israel and
their great God, Jehovah.
Believe it or not. . .he ran out of fear. . .along with the rest of the soldiers of Israel.
1 Samuel 17:24 says:
And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore
afraid.
Notice the verse says. . . all the men of Israel fled and that included David. . .ran
and were afraid. . .fearful for their lives.
But then something happened to change Davids mind. . .he had a defining moment
based on new information and motivation.
1 Samuel 17:25 says:
And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy
Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will
enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's
house free in Israel.
David discovered that the person who killed Goliath would be given three things:
First, not just riches but great riches.
Second, he would be given the hand of the Kings beautiful daughter in
marriage thus making him a member of the Kings family and giving him
entrance into the Kings court.
Third, his father and family would have their homes free from payments
and taxes.

Upon learning of the reward. . .David made a profound statement in 1 Samuel 17:26
when he said: for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the
armies of the living God?
David, finally received the right motivation. . .what is your motivation?
Here are seven keys to defeating the giants in your life.
1.

Show up for the battle ready to fight.

Sometimes you dont get to pick the place or the time. . .but you must always be
ready for the fight.
First, sometimes you must take the fight to the enemy.
1 Samuel 17:34-35 says:
And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a
lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and
smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I
caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
David didnt just defeat the lion and the bear. The scripture says that David went
after them when they stole what belonged to him.
Second, you have to expect the return of what belongs to you plus
restitution.
There will be times in life when the enemy takes what belongs to you. He will steal
your income, your home, a family member, your time and/or health.
You must be aggressive in going after what the enemy has taken.
Proverbs 6:31 says:
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his
house.
Third, you must be ready for battle in season and out of season.
2 Timothy 4:2 in the Amplified Bible says:
Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and
ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is
convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of

the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them,
rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being
unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.
Finally, remember you will never win a battle you dont show up for.
2.

Dont run from the battle.

Did it surprise you earlier in this teaching when I showed you in scripture that David
like all the soldiers in the Army of Israel ran from Goliath and a possible battle to the
death?
1 Samuel 17:24 says:
And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore
afraid.
Before criticizing David. . .let me ask you a question. . .when youre facing an enemy
do you run from the battle?
Ignoring a problem will never make it go away or lessen the intensity of the battle
your facing.
Running in the midst of a fire fight with the devil with either make you a prisoner or a
casualty but never a victor.
If someone or something is causing you a problem. . .its better to face the
consequences.
Someone once said, if you want to be the leader of the band. . .you must be
willing to face the music.
When youre in the midst of a battle and someone yells incoming its important to
know whos in the foxhole with you.
You dont have to run from any battle. . .because you always know whos with you in
your foxhole and in every adversity youll ever face.
Psalm 118:6 the Message Bible says:
God's now at my side and I'm not afraid; who would dare lay a hand on me?
3.

Dont be afraid.

If youre facing. . .difficult, if not, seemingly impossible financial or other attacks of

the enemy. . .you can take comfort in know that God is in your foxhole. . .Hes with
you no matter where or what kind of battle youre facing.
With God by your side. . .there is no reason to fear or ever doubt the outcome of the
battle.
Zephaniah 3:15 in the Amplified Bible says:
[For then it will be that] the Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He
has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, even the Lord [Himself], is in the midst
of you; [and after He has come to you] you shall not experience or fear evil any
more.
There are forty-four times in the King James Version of the Bible where were told to
be not afraid and there are sixty-six times in the New Living Translation where the
scripture says dont be afraid.
Lets look at four key verses of the forty-four in the King James Bible.
. . . be not afraid of him. . . 2 Kings 1:15
. . . be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee. . . Deuteronomy 20:1
. . . Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this
great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. 2 Chronicles 20:15
. . . Be not afraid, only believe. Mark 5:36
These four verses tell us to not be afraid of him or them but to only believe.
With God on our side. . .we have no reason to be afraid.
Hebrews 13:6 in the Amplified Bible says:
So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is
my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified].
What can man do to me?
Even though God should only have to tell us something once. . .sometimes we have
to be reminded when were facing the Goliath of doubt and fear.
4.

Dont worry about what other people may think.

In the final analysis. . .no one else can fight your battles. . .no one else take your
place on Judgment Day. . .you and you alone are accountable for what you do or
dont do.
Other people may face a shortage of money, opportunities, courage and/or wisdom
but theres one area where they never experience a shortage. . .thats in opinions of
what you should and/or shouldnt do.
1 Samuel 17:28-30 in the New Living Translation says:
But when Davids oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was
angry. What are you doing around here anyway? he demanded. What about those
few sheep youre supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit.
You just want to see the battle! What have I done now? David replied. I was only
asking a question!
Why do some of your co-workers talk about you behind your back?
Why do some of your friends and even family members get angry on your initiative
and desire for a better quality of life?
Your success becomes a reflection of their lack of success.
Eliab was upset because neither he, his brothers nor any of the solders in the army
of Israel were willing to stand up to Goliath
Sadly, some people instead of fessing up to their lack of success seek to minimize
who you are, what you do or are capable of doing. . .so it will not reflect poorly on
them.
Its important that you understand other peoples motivation. . .for the hurtful things
they may say. . .but its critically important that you never allow their opinion of you
to determine what you do or dont do.
In life, there may be times when you like David will ask what have I done now.
The attitude and actions of others may not be so much as to what youre doing as to
what they are not doing.
Consider the words of Colossians 3:23 in the Amplified Bible which says:
Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done]
for the Lord and not for men.

Remember, its not important others think. . .but what God thinks about what youre
doing.
5.

You choose the weapons.

There are three things you should know when it comes to choosing your weapons.
First, get rid of anything that doesnt work for you.
Eliminate anything that can be weaknesses or that will restrict you movement and
possibilities of success.
1 Samuel 17:38-40 in the Contemporary English Version says:
Saul had his own military clothes and armor put on David, and he gave David a
bronze helmet to wear. David strapped on a sword and tried to walk around, but he
was not used to wearing those things. "I can't move with all this stuff on," David
said. "I'm just not used to it."
While King Sauls armor didnt weigh as much as Goliaths its generally agreed by
historians that his armor weigh between one and two hundred pounds. If youve
never been used to wearing that much gear. . .it would be a heavy unmanageable
load.
In the marketplace. . .remember that just because somebody else does something
that it may not work the same way for you.
Second, find something that will work for you. Play to your strengths.
1 Samuel 17:40 in the Contemporary English Version says:

David took off the armor and picked up his shepherd's stick. He went out to a
stream and picked up five smooth rocks and put them in his leather bag. Then with
his sling in his hand, he went straight toward Goliath.
Davids weapons of choice wouldnt work for anybody else but him. . .but thats okay
because he was the only one headed to the field of battle.
Third, you have weapons that can defeat every foe.
2 Corinthians 10:4 in the Amplified Bible says:
For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but
they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds.

You have weapons at your disposal which are undefeatable in every battle you will
ever face.
The Message Bible translation of 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 gives an even clearer picture
of your arsenal and the purpose of your warfare.
The world is unprincipled. It's dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn't fight fair.
But we don't live or fight our battles that waynever have and never will. The tools
of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that
entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing
warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting
every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by
Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and
building lives of obedience into maturity.
I strongly suggest that you listen to or read that verse one more time.
6.

Understand the rewards of winning.

Never make any mistake about it. . .the battles that youre facing is for territory. . .for
the rewards that God has promised you.
1 Samuel 17:25 says:
And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy
Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will
enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's
house free in Israel.
David discovered that the person who killed Goliath would be given three things:
First, the warrior who defeats Goliath will receive great riches.
God has a benefit delivery system designed for every person who ever drew a breath
on planet earth. He desires for you to be rich thats why He gave you the power to
get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18.)
Make no mistake, your enemy wants you broke, busted and disgusted.
Once you realize whos fighting against you. . .and the weapons available to you. .
.you can begin your active pursuit of the prosperity God has for you. And that would
give Him more pleasure than you realizing and manifesting what He intended for you
to have (Psalm 35:27.)

Second, the warrior now victorious and wealthy will receive the hand of the Kings
beautiful daughter in marriage.
If you want to properly court the woman of your dreams. . .that takes money. Some
would say, Im not marrying for money, Im marrying for love. . .that sounds good
and to some extent its true.
However, if youre having to work two jobs just to make ends meet. . .then youre
never going to have the time to spend with your dream lover for them to know who
you are and the depth of your character.
If youre successful in the adversities of life. . .then it will be much easier for you to
meet, greet, treat and wed the person of your dreams.
Third, the victorious warrior will also have all their bills paid in full.
The enemy wants to keep you up to your eyeballs in debt. . .strung out by payments
and with little, if any hope of ever becoming debt free. The enemy wants you to
believe that where you are in life right now. . .is where youre going to stay. Thats
simply, not true.
The world says to the victor go the spoils. When you let Him help you, when you
are obedient to His word. . .then your financial dreams will become a reality.
Isaiah 1:19 in The Living Bible says:
If you will only let me help you, if you will only obey my instructions, then I will
make you rich.
7.

Do something with whats in your hand.

President Theodore Roosevelt said:

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
You should always start where you are. . .with what youve got. . .at the moment.
David choose five smooth stones. . .he didnt choose someone elses weapon he
chose what he knew would work for him. David activated what he knew would
empower him.
2 Timothy 1:14 in The Living Bible says:
Guard well the splendid, God-given ability you received as a gift from the Holy Spirit
who lives within you.

In every battle you face. . .being empowered by the Holy Spirit will GUARANTEE your
victory. . .and your ability to defeat every giant of debt, lack, sickness, despair and
doubt.
Youll defeat every giant you face. . .because God is on your side.