Facing Your Problems

“As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.” 1 Samuel 17:48

During training exercises, the green lieutenant was driving down a muddy back road. He encountered another car stuck in the mud with a red-faced colonel at the wheel. “Your jeep stuck, sir?” asked the lieutenant as he pulled along side. “Nope,” replied the colonel, coming over and handing him the keys. “Yours is.”

Now that story might give you a chuckle, but isn’t that the way most people want to handle their problems, but handing the keys to someone else? By nature we neither want to admit that something was our fault nor do we want to take the imitative and responsibility to fix it. Our tendency is to run from it and hand it off to someone else to solve.

One of the fundamental principles of sailing is that when you get into a storm, head into the wind. If you run from it, you will be caught from behind. If you turn sideways, you will capsize. But, by meeting it head on, you have the best chance to ride out the storm and overcome it.

Life is that way. We will never conquer our fears, sins, problems, the giants in our lives by running away. Those giants will always be there just like Goliath was there every day taunting, challenging, badgering. The only way that we can overcome and conquer the giants in our lives is to do as little David the shepherd boy did. He quickly ran out and faced his giant. So we must face our problems. Face your giant. Acknowledge it and address it. Only by facing the giant can we overcome.

But there is more for you between facing your giants and personal victory. We have to turn from facing to focusing. Don’t focus on the giants…focus on God. The miracle of overcoming giants is to trust in the Lord…focus on Him!

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5&6)

Face your giants, rather than running from them, but then focus not on your problem but rather focus on God. With that formula for dealing with life’s problems, we can overcome anything that we may face in life. Just remember to focus on God in all times, in all situations and in all ways. (a thought on life from John Grant )

By John Grant
Used by Permission
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney