How to Trust God When Goliath is at Your Door
Issues of certainty, assurance, and conviction are hot theological topics today. Indeed, they seem to be polarizing the church into two extremes. On the one hand, from a theological standpoint, some people believe that in all our convictions we should have absolute certainty or we don’t really believe them. Others believe that certainty is a past-time archaic dream that has no place in reality. On an experiential basis, things become even more confusing. How are we to trust God in our troubles? Hold on. Back up and read that question again. The question is not Are we to trust God in our troubles, but How are we to trust God in our troubles? Should we have confidence that since we are His children that He will deliver us? If we don’t, does this mean that we really don’t trust God like we should? If we lack certainty, does this mean we are faithless?
Most all of us know and are inspired by the story of David and Goliath. David, a young man, green in battle, fights a giant who is a celebrated warrior. David brings his case before this warrior standing only on the foundation of his faith. He believed, indeed was absolutely certain, that God would deliver Him from the hand of the giant, thereby vindicating his God and Israel from the scorn of the Philistines. So assured was he that he would win the battle, he did not rely upon helmet or shield to aid him. He took his sling, gathered five stones and defeated the undefeatable giant. I often ask myself what gave David such confidence that he would win? Where did such certainty come from? Is this the kind of certainty that I should have in my “Goliath†situations? What if David had not won? I remember the old Richard Gere movie where David misses with the first few stones thereby creating tension. But the text does not mention any misses if it were true. Maybe he took five stones just in case one of them were to miss. Does this show uncertainty? I don’t think so. David told the skeptical Saul as he questioned his certainty, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine†(1 Samuel 17:37). But how did David know this? Well, in the end, David did defeat the giant and thereby vindicated not only Israel and His God, but his faith as well.
We are inspired by this story and are motivated in our own particular “Goliath†situations. We often hear people saying “This is your Goliath, and you must have the faith of David.†It is inspirational to hear this and we want to follow suit, but doubt often fills our mind. I know it does mine. What does it mean to “have the faith of David?†Does that mean that we are to have certainty that God will deliver us from our current plight? I know that I would like to have that kind of faith, but I can’t.
People would often tell me before my sister died that I have to have faith that God will heal her. They were often taken aback when I, a pastor, would tell them that I don’t have that kind of faith. Many times the result would be a raised eyebrow with people questioning my faith in general. I could hear their thoughts, “Oh, he is losing his faith. The situation is just too hard.†Or “when he begins to believe that God will heal her, then He will intervene, but not until then.†Other times their expression would give their thoughts away, “He is just a young Christian. Someday he will believe God’s power.†I have now been going through the same situation with my mother for the past year and a half. I sat here today with her looking at her and morning her condition and wishing that I had mom back. I said a silent prayer: God, I really do know you can heal her. Would you please? This prayer was filled with doubt.
Do I have faith that God will heal my mother? No, not really. Do I doubt that He will? Yes, for the most part. I don’t have access to any information on the matter and therefore I must remain agnostic. You see, God has not told me either way. There is nothing specific in the Bible that deals with my particular situation, including the story of David. Believe me, I have looked. Concerning my mothers sickness, on a scale of -10 to 10 (same scale I use in TTP)— with -10 being absolute certainty that God won’t heal my mother and +10 being absolute certainty that God will heal her — I am a 0. I have no idea. Based upon past experience with my sister, emotionally I am pushed to the negative. Some people who have had better luck in their past “Goliath” situations may be pushed to the positive. But we need to be very careful either way. We just don’t know the particulars of life. We don’t know what God’s plans are. Do I have the faith of David in this “Goliath†situation? Well, it depends on what you mean by faith. If you mean that I believe that God will have victory in general, yes. But the problem is that God’s view of how this victory is brought about may be much different than mine. God does not hot sync to PDAs, but that is another story. God is free to gain victory by my mother’s sickness or health. I have to keep that in perspective. While I don’t know how David knew with such certainty that he would be delivered, I do know that we, for the most part, are not blessed with such particular certainty.
I turn now to another story that might seem to be at odds with the story of David. It is the story of three Hebrew slaves who were brought into captivity by Babylonian kind Nebuchadnezzar in the fifth-century B.C. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were three young men who would not obey the king’s law to worship the gods of Babylon. They would only bow the knee to Yahweh. Surprised by this and frustrated by their faith, the Nebuchadnezzar attempts to strong arm them into submission.
Daniel 3:13-15 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 “Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
The boys responded.
Daniel 3:16-18 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (emphasis mine)
“If it be so� “But even if He does not� What kind of faith is that? They would most certainly suffer the same treatment that I described earlier for that type of doubt, right? It does not sound like the same confidence that David had. Didn’t they know the story of David and Goliath? Sure they did. It had been in circulation for five hundred years. They were in a life death situation—just like David—standing up for their God—just like David—and they essentially said that they were not certain what God was going to do.
Why didn’t they express the same confidence, the same certainty, that David did? Was their faith weak? No, not at all. The reason why they did not express that same confidence as David is because of the simple fact they did not know what God was going to do. They could not place their faith in something about which they had no information. All they knew was that God was God and the others were not. They knew He could save them and He might save them, but were not sure. Either way, they were not going to bow the knee to the false idol of unbelief. They were a lot like me and probably, unless God has been giving you immediate revelation about your particular situation, a lot like you.
From my experience, I find that most of life is filled with more “if it be sos†and “but even if He does nots.†Life is filled with a lot of uncertainty. I believe that this is a more honest and responsible attitude have. It will also keep us from much unnecessary disillusionment and pain. We have all seen false “prophets of hope†who do their best, with good intentions, to bring joy to a situation by expressing their certainty. “I just know that God is going to heal you.†Or “God won’t let that happen, I know it.†When that which they were so certain of does not come to pass, the cup of joy that was so easy to drink becomes a cup of bitterness and scorn. I don’t want to be unduly pessimistic about any issue knowing that God can and does interview and deliver people from their “Goliaths.†But I also want to be realistic and trust God no matter what the prospects are for the outcome of any “Goliath†situation. I also believe that this attitude expresses just as much faith, even if it does lacks certainty.
Remember, God has made a lot of promised, but there are also a lot of promises that he has not made. Don’t read promises into Scripture. Try saying this next time Goliath is at your door, “If it be so, God can deliver me, but even if you strike me dead, I will not abandon my faith because I will not place my faith in something God has not promised.†You may raise some eyebrows, but you will be representing truth much more faithfully.
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JoanieD on 04 Aug 2007 at 7:14 am #
This is very wise writing, Michael. Hopefully, it will help those people who wonder if their faith is “strong” enough because even though they prayed for a healing, they did not receive it. Wouldn’t it have been great to have walked the earth when Jesus was doing his three-year ministry and see in person the healings he did? Those healings were not only to help the person being healed, but to help those who witnessed the healing to realize that they truly were seeing the Son of God in action. And therefore, they could trust whatever he told him.
Have a great Sunday!
Joanie D.
Chad Winters on 05 Aug 2007 at 4:46 pm #
I think it could help many people to read a little early christian history, and maybe Fox’s Book of Martyrs. When I did, it made it clear to me that God did not promise to rescue from “Goliath” but to bring us to His presence when we die. Many great Christians faced “Goliath” and were struck down. Not due to lack of faith, but Jesus promised that we would face trials and be punished because we follow him.
kurtvader on 05 Aug 2007 at 9:01 pm #
I think this comes under the whole notion of what faith is. Faith is trust in the promises of God, you can have faith in many things but if that faith is not founded on what Christ has done for you at the Cross, that faith becomes empty.
The Cross is the only guarantee we have.
Kurt
ChadS on 06 Aug 2007 at 10:05 am #
Michael,
This was an excellent post.
There were only two things I would like to add:
This is sort of a comment for those that questioned your faith in God since you didn’t believe or know that a physical healing would come for your sister. When Job argued with God, God told him “Your ways are not my ways” and “where were you when I created the oceans” etc. We seem to often only want God to provide physical healings, when the healings that can be most beneficial for us are spiritual healings.
I believe completely that when David confronted Goliath he believed that God would deliver Goliath into his hands. However, that didn’t stop David from stopping by the stream to pick up a few rocks. Does that mean that David lacked faith? I don’t think so. I think what it means that David didn’t expect Goliath’s deliverance to be miraculous or occur in a manner outside of normal means. However, it also left open the very possibility of a sudden and spontaneous conversion on Goliath’s part but David realized that when the sword and spear came out there might not be many second chances.
That reminds me of a story my priest used in one of his sermons. A man is stuck in his house and the rivers near his place overflow their banks. Soon his house is beginning to flood. He cries out for God to save him. A large truck comes by and a man tells him to get in and he says “NO, God will save me.” The water continues to rise and the man moves to the second floor, once again he cries out for God to save him. Soon a man in a boat floats by. “Get in the water is rising fast.” “No,” the man yells, “God will save me.” Soon the man is forced to the roof. One last time he asks God to save him. In a little while a helicopter with a rope ladder dangling beneath flies over and stops. The man on his roof says, “No, God will save me.” Soon he is forced to stand on his chimney as the water continues to rise. The man realizes that the end is near and asks “God why didn’t you save me?” A loud booming voice from the heavens responds “I sent you a truck, a boat and a helicopter. What more do you want?”
This fictitious man stands in contrast to David. He believed that God would deliver him. But he refused to believe that God could use ordinary means or that something might be required of him.
I guess what my point is is that what doesn’t seem like faith to others may be the greatest faith we can have. What seems like the ultimate faith may be misguided and dangerous to ourselves.
ChadS
C Michael Patton on 06 Aug 2007 at 10:08 am #
Great thoughts. Thanks for taking the time to write them out all. The martyrs do give us a different perspective concerning God’s intentions to deliever us or heal us from calamity.
wondersforoyarsa on 06 Aug 2007 at 10:48 pm #
Hi Michael,
I don’t disagree with anything you’re getting at here. But I do sense something further needing to be said.
In the evangelical world, when we talk about suffering or hardship, we try to seek God’s deliverance from it or perhaps some good that came out of it (lessons learned, empathy gained, etc). While these impulses are both valid and biblical, I am increasingly concerned that we sideline what is surely the most central place of suffering in our faith.
We are Christians, after all - literally “little-Christs.” We follow a king who wore a crown of thorns and whose high throne was a Roman cross. Suffering and death are woven into the very symbol of our faith. The cross is the center of Christian praxis. The life of the spirit is one of dying, of laying down our lives for others, for the world, for our enemies, of bearing the pain and sin of the world for its redemption. As the father sent him, so he sends us.
Oh, of course we cannot deny that the very spirit of God goes with us - that we will have victory over all - that we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. But there is no escaping the fact that this life, this power, this victory, comes only through the cross. We ourselves live because Christ died. It is by being united with him in his death that we hope to share in his resurrection.
So, I suggest, as was hinted in talking about the martyrs, we need to reevaluate our response to suffering. It needs to not shock or surprise or even trouble us (theologically I mean - of course it troubles us practically!) when we suffer. Are we greater than our master? We will have trouble. We will have victory. The victory will come through the trouble, and not in spite of it or apart from it.
We will die. I will. My wife will. My dear children will as well. I do not ask to escape this. I do not even ask to have a painless death in my sleep (though I certainly don’t desire a horrible death). This is the lot of man - it is our curse. But the point is that I want to know Christ, and be united with him totally. It is in knowing him that my death, my participation in the curse of man, becomes the means of my sharing in Christ’s death, and the precursor to the resurrection of my own body. And this literal death and resurrection that I will undergo must be lived out a thousand times over throughout my life.
So with David - we are amazed at his faith and his triumph. But as Christians, we should immediately think of the one who sat on David’s throne, David’s son and David’s Lord, who through faithfulness unto death triumphed over death itself. The sling of Christ was his cross.
So with the Hebrew children - we are amazed at their willingness to be obedient even in the face of death. But their deliverance hints at a greater deliverance - prefigured by the presence of the one with them in the flames, who was said to be surely the son of God. It was not out of the flames that the Lord delivered them, but through them. It was not out of death and hell that Christ was delivered, but he tore right through the middle of them.
Anyway, the heart of what I’m trying to say is that the trite old expression calling our sufferings our “cross to bear” has a great deal of truth to it. The cross unites our trials with God’s promises in a way that trivializes neither.