Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 23rd, 2012
A Story from Scripture: Read 1 Samuel 17:4-9, 40-41, 45, 49-50
A Devo: The Bible goes to great lengths to describe how tall Goliath was, how much his armor weighed, how overpowering he seemed. Our lives are filled with Goliaths, those things that seem so imposing, so insurmountable, so daunting. And the longer we try to avoid our Goliaths, the bigger they seem to become. An unfinished project at home, a nagging health concern, a strained relationship at work, an addiction of one sort or another all can grow into greater Goliaths for us. But young David proves to us that all our Goliaths can be toppled and stripped of their power over us. While a small stone ultimately brought down the mighty Goliath in this story, the real weapon was David's confidence that he had someone bigger than Goliath on his side: God himself. Knowing that we have the power of God on our side gives us the fortitude to face our challenges head on and not to back down from them or avoid them. Our great God gives us the words to say and the actions to take to reduce the hold that Goliaths have over us. Our great God who created the heavens and the earth is the one in control. Our great God who breathed life into us is the one who has authority over all. Our great God is the one who will always triumph in the end.
A Prayer: All-powerful Lord, fill me with faith and trust in your ability to save me from all that threatens me or seeks to destroy me. Help me to no longer avoid those things that are causing me stress and distress, but to be willing to work together with you to do what it takes to free me of their influence over me. Amen.
