Forty days of fear!

“And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day; 

give me a man, that we may fight together. 

When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine,

they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”

1 Samuel 17: 10, 11

 

One would think that would be the perfect opportunity for the

Philistine’s to attack Israel.

It would be an easy battle for them.

Saul and ALL Israel were dismayed and fearful.

But the enemy didn’t attack.

Instead of attacking, Goliath came out morning and evening

for FORTY days!

Yes, forty days!!

 

“The Philistine came out morning and evening presenting 

himself for forty days.”

1 Samuel 17:16

 

That is so crazy to think. It’s like the enemy enjoyed seeing

Israel cower in fear.

They loved seeing the Israelites in fear.

 

“David left his packages in the care of the baggage keeper

and ran into the ranks and came and greeted his brothers. 

 

As they talked, behold, Goliath, the champion, the Philistine

of Gath, came forth from the Philistine ranks and spoke the 

same words as before, and David heard him. 

 

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from 

him terrified. “

1 Samuel 17:22-24

 

And this went on for forty days, morning and evening!

Who knows how long it would have gone on for if David had

not come along.

 

And this my friends, is one of the enemies most effective strategy.

He wants you to live in fear as long as possible.

He wants you to be paralyzed by it.

He wants you to be bound by fear to a point where you can’t

think and you can’t step out in faith.

 

You don’t have to go far to find it. Fear is everywhere. It’s the

headlines you read on your way to work.

It’s in the 8:00 news.

It’s littered on your Facebook page.

 

Because the Israelites were gripped with fear they could not

move in  faith.

Fear blinded them to the truth.

They forgot the Lord Almighty was stronger than the enemy

they were facing.

 

The enemy used fear to stop the Israelites from moving

forward in their purpose.

 

We can’t let fear win friends. If left alone it will steal

everything good in our lives.

 

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, 

of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us 

a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced

mind and discipline and self-control. “

2 Timothy 1:7

 

We need God’s help to overcome fear. God has brought me

so far as I look back at my life. I was so fearful but He continues

to take me to new levels of boldness. This is not an easy battle

friends. But we are not alone facing this enemy.

Fear’s hold on our lives must be broken.

The God we serve is stronger than every fear we face.

He is stronger than the author of fear!!

Take heart.

Blessings to you

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

A strategy to destroy a dream!

“Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, 

Why have you come out to draw up for battle?

Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants

of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let 

him come down to me.  1 Samuel 17:8 

 

How could Goliath speak to the people of God

like that? These were the people of God for crying

out loud. Didn’t Goliath know who they were?

That is irrelevant because God’s people lost

sight of who they really were.

 

When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the 

Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 

1 Samuel 17:11

 

God loved His people, He had big dreams for His

people but…….

 

The Philistine came out morning and evening, 

presenting himself for forty days.  1 Samuel 17:16

 

….but for forty days Goliath came and defied the

armies of God! Why didn’t they just attack Israel?

We already know Israel was greatly afraid

when Goliath came out to taunt them.

They could of taken Israel out and in a way,

they did.

The enemy managed to instill fear in the heart

of the Israel. They didn’t stop after the first

week, instead, they taunted them for forty

days……

The enemy knew exactly what they were doing.

They knew the power of fear. For forty days

Israel saw the giant. That’s all they saw.

Fear made them see the giant and everyday the

giant kept on getting bigger. The stories kept

getting grander. During the forty days, Israel

saw nothing else but the giant. They never

saw a chance of victory, they never saw hope,

all they saw was a giant……

 

Fear blinded them from seeing God!

The army of God never saw their God!

 

You need to know that the enemy’s strategy has

not changed. He still uses fear to paralyze you, he

still uses fear to stop you from seeing God.

He still uses fear to destroy any hope you may

have. If he had his way, he would keep you in fear

for the rest of your life.

 

But then David came!

 

He had a relationship of God that was so amazing.

He loved God and his heart was for God. David

had a relationship with God that was like no other.

 

When he went to visit his brothers he was the only

one who saw something wrong. He was the only one

who didn’t fear the giant!

 

God’s presence in your life will break the hold

of fear.

Because David spent time with God he could easily

identify the fear and confront it head on.

Am I saying David never struggled with

fear ever? He battled with it indeed but as

he spent time with God he overcame it.

 

The enemy wants you in fear because he knows

that will get your focus off God.

But when you spend time with God, you will be

able to fight the fear. David didn’t rely on his

own strength. He trusted God as he approached

the giant.

 

As I read this story I realized the enemy will

do anything to stop us from accomplishing our

destiny. He knew God had a plan for Israel

but he used fear to stop them!

He might be doing the same thing to you today

but I am here to say there is a way out.

You don’t have to listen to the fear.

Look to God, trust Him, spend time with

Him! He is the answer.

Don’t be afraid of the future. God has an

amazing plan for your life. He is personally

guiding you.

I saw that so clearly today. There are some things

happening in my life that have made me fear but

God doesn’t want me to focus on the fear. He wants

me to look to Him and realize He is in TOTAL

control. Fear distorts the truth……

At the end of the day I made a decision to trust

instead of fear.

What will your decision be….?

 

Rolain