Sometimes it's a line from a song, or even a piece of dialogue from a show or movie. Sometimes it's something I see or hear as I go about my day that catches my attention and begins peculating in my mind for a day or so until the brew is done and ready to be poured out as a message. Sometimes as I pray or am dealing with something myself I get ideas that can not only help me but can help others. I try to be ever listening and observant for seeing things in a way that I never noticed before, because I put out six to seven messages a week, and I pray for them to be something that will help people, will be a fresh perspective or new way to see what pretty much all my messages are. Because, in case you, Dear Reader, haven't noticed, I only have three messages that get redone over and over in, hopefully, different ways. God loves you, as you are and not as you should be, but He loves you enough not to leave you the broken mess that you are without Him. The second is that Daddy desires an ever deeper and closer relationship between us and Him, and that no matter who you are, what your mess is, or what you may have done, or how often you fail, that is His desire, and He has done and will do whatever needs to be done to repair and enable relationship with us because, well, refer to the first message. Finally, while we are all called to be a unique reflection of the love and glory and power of God, with individual gifts, talents and areas of service, we are all called to the same foundation calling of loving God and loving others. We can't do this right or well, but God enables us, gives us the power, to walk with Him in loving service and complete our calling. God's grace gives us the ability to do what we were created to do.
Sometimes, things are good and the ideas flow. I can actually feel almost overwhelmed as I have several ideas at once. But other times it is a fight, one I dread. I have nothing, or feel I have nothing, to give. I am poured out and haven't been refilled. The blank screen is like a giant mocking me, preparing to destroy me if I attempt to face it and attempt to overcome it. And it's not just the ministry and preparing the messages where this happens. You may be able to relate to the idea that there are times that the day itself or some responsibility or need is a giant we simply can not face. That is how I felt this morning. I didn't want to get out of bed, but I didn't want to go back to sleep and risk returning to the dreams that I had been having either. I had no thoughts or ideas on what I could share that might be of use to anyone, much less myself. I have this long list of things that I need to do, a shortening deadline in which to get them done and no energy and little desire to do them, never mind not knowing how I can get it all done even with energy and desire. With so much to do, including today's Unshackled Moment, and no inspiration, energy or confidence to do do it, what I really wanted to do was step outside of everything. Rather than face the giants, I wanted to take a break, to not do anything. I cried out to God for help, and not only did He answer me, but I saw that He answered me before I got out of bed and asked for help.
Leah got up before me, which she often does during the week. During her morning routine she came across something and shared it with me by sending me the link to a TedTalk about David and Goliath. It was waiting for me when I sat down to begin my day, hoping something would occur to me to write about. I owe her a debt of gratitude for listening to that still small voice that told her to share this 15 minute talk with me. I, like the person giving the talk, am very familiar with the story of David and Goliath. I hadn't really seen David as the underdog before, but as he spoke, I realized the speaker was right in saying that David as the weaker of the two is how we approach the story.
I realized that I too had always thought wrong about the story. I reread the tale from I Samuel 17 this morning, and saw that my assumption had been wrong. I never saw David as the underdog, because I came from the perspective that God told David to face Goliath, and since he was being obedient, he was assured victory. But scripture doesn't say anything about God telling David to fight the giant. David simply knew and understood that this foe was an enemy of God's people, found him and the situation offensive and understood that he could take Goliath, not because of what God told him to do but because of the skills God had given him. He also knew that God was with him and would be as long as he remained within the will of Daddy. When he spent his days in prayer and praise guarding his father's flock, God had been with him and enabled him to defeat the lions and wolves and bears that came to kill the sheep. It was not God's will for the Philistine army to subjugate Israel and therefore it would be within the will of God for David to use his God-given skills in service and defeat Goliath.
I did know about the slingers. Those guys were awesome, and David had the upper hand in weaponry for that battle. I was unaware of the the shortcomings of Goliath though, and did some research this morning to realize that the speaker of the talk Leah sent me was right. Goliath never had a chance. And there was the message that I needed this morning, both to hear myself and to share with you. Yes, there are times when what we are facing is what God has specifically called us to do, like, for me, writing these Unshackled Moments. And when we are stepping out onto the battlefield to obey, the Lord is with us, and we can know that He will help us. The giant can be defeated.
But there are giants that we face simply because of life. Giants that perhaps God has not specifically called us to fight but are there in front of us nevertheless. It may feel like the whole world is looking at the situation and thinking we're screwed. There is no way we can defeat this giant. But, like David, we can remember that we are not always the underdog just because people see us as such, even if we see ourselves as such. The giant may be big and bad and have strengths that we can't overcome if we go into the situation on its terms and as expected. But if we remember instead why we are facing what we are facing, the gifts and skills that God has given us that have helped us in the past, and stay true to who we are and the way God uses us instead of trying to do face what we have to face as others would do it (David refused Saul's armor and didn't fight Goliath hand-to-hand as everyone expected), we just may find that what seems to be the giant's strength is also its weakness.
I hope that you aren't facing any giants today. But, if you are, remember that when we are His and in His will, even when the giants come against us screaming that we have no chance, that we should despair and surrender to depression and that they are stronger than us and are not things that God has said go and fight this, we can know that He is still with us. The giants do have weaknesses. God has given us what we need to be able to do all that we need to do. And what we don't need to do can be let go or wait until another day. Staying within the role that He has created us to fill and using the gifts and skills that He has given us can give us the wisdom and understanding to approach each giant we face in a way that keeps us out of reach of its strength and exposes all its vulnerability.
Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.
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