I pray that your remembrance of Christmas was filled with peace and joy as you celebrated the coming of Christ our Savior in humility to win for us the victory over sin and Satan, over death and hell.
I have a question for you. Were you victorious in 2019? You could very well respond, “That depends on how you define victorious!” How did you fare in accomplishing your New Years’ resolutions? I can imagine that many of the items that made last year’s list appear as hopefuls on this year’s list as well. However, our victories and defeats involve much more than whether or not our New Year’s resolutions are met. A change to one’s health, job transition or loss, a broken relationship, the death of a loved one, or any number of disappointments and difficulties can seem insurmountable at the time. When we’re faced with such obstacles in the coming year, will we be victorious? Or will they defeat us?
One of the great victory accounts in the Bible is found in 1 Samuel chapter 17. It’s the account of David vs Goliath. I encourage you to take five minutes and reread the account for yourself. It’s pretty exciting! David is just a young boy who tends his father’s sheep. His older and full-grown brothers are with the army of Israel under King Saul, and are encamped against the Philistines. Each day the Philistine champion, Goliath, comes out of the ranks of the enemy and challenges one Israelite to face him in battle – winner take all. Goliath is over nine feet tall, his armor alone weighs around 125 lbs, and no one from Saul’s army (including Saul) dares fight with him.
Along comes young David, sent by his father to see how the battle is going. When David hears the challenge of the giant, and when he sees the army of Israel fleeing before him, he tells Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of [Goliath]. [I] will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul’s tells David that he can’t, he’s just a boy, and this guy has been practicing war since he was David’s age! But David replies that he’s used to fighting lions and bears and is not afraid. Saul consents and offers his armor and sword to David, but, of course, they don’t fit the stature of a boy. Instead, David takes his staff and chooses five smooth stones from the brook. With these and his sling he approaches Goliath.
Goliath disdains David, and says, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And then he curses David by Goliath’s gods. David runs at Goliath, fits a stone to his sling, and slings it at the giant. The stone sinks into his forehead and he falls on his face. David cuts off his head with Goliath’s own sword, and the Philistines flee en masse.
Now, it looks like David has won a great victory over Goliath and the Philistines. And, to be sure, David is hailed as a national hero. After all, he was bold and brave and didn’t let the size and bluster of Goliath intimidate him. I could say much here and give you three ways to emulate David and gain victory over the difficulties and obstacles of 2020. But it would all be rubbish.
I have, you may have noticed, left out some really important details in the telling of the story. First, David tells Saul that the reason he will be able to strike the giant down is that “[Goliath] has defied the armies of the living God!” He says confidently, “Yahweh, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” David’s confidence is not placed in himself, in his abilities or wisdom or strength. He is sure of victory because the Lord, Yahweh, is with him.
Then, when David faces Goliath and the Philistine taunts him, David replies, “You come to me with a sword and a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” David tells Goliath that he will be victorious this day over him and over the entire Philistine army, “For the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
Many of us will be facing Goliaths in this coming year. I want to encourage you to lift up your heads with confidence and to meet these giants without fear. Just as David was confident in the Lord Yahweh’s presence with him, you, too, can be confident that the same Yahweh of hosts, is with you. He has sent his only Son, the Son of David, to be born in the city of David for you. Jesus Christ faced our greatest enemies – sin, death and the devil – and he has utterly defeated them all.
Because you are the Lord’s, he will be with you as you face your Goliaths this year. Just as David was able to recite how the Lord had been with him in the past you can point to the past as well. David looked forward to the coming of the Christ. You can point to the cross and the empty tomb and say with confidence, “Jesus, the Christ, has come for me!” You can point to your baptism and be reminded that in the blessed waters Yahweh put his name on you and you became his dear child. You can be assured of his presence as you place the very body and blood of Christ into your mouth for the forgiveness of your sins and the strengthening of your faith.
As we step out into the great unknown in 2020, remember that the same God, Yahweh of hosts, is with you, as he was with David, and that the battle is the Lord’s. As you meet your Goliaths head on, remember that Christ has already won the victory for you. You are his, and he will guard and keep you in 2020 as he has in the past. We go forth in the name of the Lord!
- Pastor