There's More Than One

1 Chronicles 20:8
“These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.”

After the victory over Goliath, David could have easily thought that he could ride off that victory for the remainder of his life. If he had done that, he would have never become the great warrior we know him as today. That was one victory that he needed to win for that day, but as the Scriptures show us there were other giants that he had to conquer. In fact, his whole life he continued conquering giants. David realized that there was more than one giant he would have to defeat, and that continual awareness is what kept him driving and experiencing victory to the day of his death. There are several principles that we can learn from David’s victory over the giants.

First, one victory doesn't mean that you won the war. David had certainly defeated Goliath, but there were other battles and greater battles that he needed to continue to fight. Just because you have one great victory over a giant doesn't mean that you have won the war. After each victory, you must constantly be aware of the other giants that can kill you. Many people have suffered great defeat after a great victory. Always keep in mind that until the day you die you will continually fight battles in the Christian life.

Second, you have more giants in life to conquer. One victory means that you must now go fight the next giant in your life. You are not a super Christian just because you’ve defeated one giant. The Devil would love for you to become overconfident and not be aware of the next giants in your life that you need to go after. When you conquer one giant weakness in your life, then you need to refocus on the next giant. When you conquer one great sin in your life, then you need to work on conquering the next sin. When you overcome one obstacle in your marital or family relationship, then you need to continue working on the rest. There are more giants that you need to address. Don't fall for the trap that because you defeated one that you don't need to go after the others. You will only be as strong as your latest victory. So, keep fighting your giants.

Third, don't try to fight all the giants at one time. You will notice that David battled one giant at a time. If we are not careful, we will see all the things we need to work on in our lives and try to address them all at one time only to experience defeat. Identify one giant and fight it until you defeat it, and then move on to the next. You will rarely be able to fight all the giants in your life at one time. You would be wiser to focus on one at a time so that you defeat them more quickly. Many people have given up the battles against their giants because they became discourage about fighting all them at one time without experiencing victory. You need to fight them one at a time so that you can experience victory which will encourage you to continue on.

Fourth, your action of courage to defeat your giants will encourage others to defeat theirs. In verse 7, Jonathan saw a giant and defeated it. If you will wisely defeat your giants in life, it will encourage those who see you defeat your giants to take on their giants. Don't give up in the battle with your giants, you will encourage others if you will continue fighting your giants until victory is achieved.