And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
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.
Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
(1 Sam 17:33-39,48-49 KJV)
At the hand of the shepherd David, Goliath the giant Philistine fell!
I do not recall what circumstances inspired my mother to say it; but, I do recall her pretty often saying: "The bigger they are the harder they fall." She was a very petite woman. She may have been five feet tall and I'm pretty sure she never weighed more than one hundred pounds. As petite as she was, she could be pretty feisty. She was never afraid to speak her mind regardless of the consequences. It was not always the most judicious thing to do but she spoke it anyway. She ended up in a few scraps. There were times when she lost the battle; but, not too often.
It seems as though there will always be a battle to fight; a giant to take down. David had only one giant to slay. Today we face many giants. Most of us may not even be aware of who they are. But; be aware, they would control the world if they could. However, their empires are built on the shifting sand of lies and deceit; on corruption and greed. They will fall... eventually...
Jesus told this parable warning us to make sure that our houses are built on a rock and not sinking sand. That rock is Jesus the Christ. (1 Cor 10:4)
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
(Matt 7:24-27 KJV)
Do not despair! The bigger they are, the harder they will fall and how great will be the fall for those who have built their empires on sand.
May God help you to always build and stand upon the rock who is Jesus the Christ.
God's Peace - Pr. J.
