“He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.”
Psalm 23:2-3 (NIV)
Giants and Strongholds
When you are struggling with ‘giants’ in your life such as patterns of wrong thinking, wrong beliefs or painful episodes from the past, referred to as strongholds in the Bible, what do you do?
This ‘giant’ or stronghold may be a fear of rejection or the lie that you are not good enough or an experience where someone has wounded you with their words or actions. Whatever it is, such embedded ways of thinking that perhaps have been entrenched over years, based on negative experiences or where lies that have taken root, are challenging to overcome and the strain of repeated and failed attempts to do so can lead to discouragement, weariness and frustration.
If the above is something you face today, the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 offers fresh hope as one of the most powerful testimonies that shows that no opposition whether temporal or spiritual, however intimidating, can stand in the way of those who have the Lord God as their refuge, shield and salvation.
Finding Truth and Healing at Still Waters
Before David faced Goliath, the passage says that “he chose five smooth stones from the stream” to hurl at the giant he was about to face (v40). The stones that enabled David to take down Goliath were found at the stream. Psalm 23:2 speaks of Jesus’ desire as our Good Shepherd to lead those he loves to still waters and to lie them down in green pastures. Why because it is in our moments of stillness with the Lord, where we take up his invitation to lead us by still water, that we encounter His presence and the beauty of his healing love and care, vividly discern his voice and where busyness and distraction are however short or momentarily banished.
It is often in these still waters of encounter and refreshment with the Lord that He reveals to us the ‘stones’ that effectively silence and refute the lies and heal the experiences that form the spiritual giants or stronghold in our lives. Imagine literally standing at the water’s edge of a quiet lake or babbling stream. As you spend time with Jesus such as through reading the Bible, resting in presence, pouring your heart out to him in prayer and waiting on him or in an act of service for his glory, see Jesus pointing out, reaching into the water and equipping you with the ‘stones’ you need that will strike the foundations of the spiritual ‘giant’ that you or I might be facing. This might be a scriptural truth that speaks to the heart of your situation or counteracts a lie you have been believing about yourself or God. It could be an encounter of His love or his presence that softens and brings healing to wounds in your heart.
However many times we need to come to Jesus in the midst of the ‘giant’ we may face does not matter, just keep accepting his invitation and receiving from him. Each time we take up his invitation to come to him as the fountain (see Isaiah 55:1), we are accepting the opportunity for God to deepen our intimacy with him in Christ, to touch and heal our hearts and fulfil his promise to renew our minds by changing the way we think that our minds and hearts confirm to that of Jesus (Romans 12:2). No ‘giant’ whether problem, lie or fear will be able to stand in the way of Christ who is in you; is for you and has the final word in your life.
© 2023, B. Trowbridge.
Abba's Dearly Beloved 