Nothing Is Too Big For Our God

DAILY READING

1 Samuel 17:1-23

“When Saul and the Israelites heard [the threat of Goliath] they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” Boy, do I know the feeling. 

A loved one was recently diagnosed with cancer. I heard the news and instantly a ton of bricks fell into the pit of my stomach. It was as though Goliath himself, adorned with all that battle bronze and iron, towered above me shouting in my face, “Your worst nightmare has come true! You will never survive it!” All the “what-ifs” began to flood my brain. I was dismayed and greatly afraid. 

The threat of Goliath isn’t his size. It’s his confidence. “No one can take me,” he gloats. He’s so very sure of himself, and his surety convinces us too: It must be true. No one can defeat this giant. He’s just too big.

But we know that nothing is too big for our God. Not Goliath. Not cancer. Not relationship troubles, not financial insecurity, not even death itself. For Christ defeated death by dying on a cross, and was raised to life again. That is the foundation of our faith. Thus, despite how loud and large as he seems, we know Goliath will never triumph. He’s taken down by the smallest of river rocks.

Reminding myself of this truth, it’s as though Goliath shrinks to the size of an ant, and I can no longer hear his threats. Instead the voice of God sounds clear: “I am with you. Do not be afraid.”

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