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.