It only takes One

1 Samuel 17:40: "Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine".

The stream tumbles across millions of stones beneath its surface, the sun glints off the water making a thousand perfect rainbows dance against the sand on this hot afternoon, a young boy of 16 kneels by the stream and - in silence - plunges his hands into the cool water, scooping up five stones to place into his satchel. In the distance, the sound of taunting, fury and ignorance beckons the young warrior to battle.

David is about to face his Goliath.

He picks up the first stone, feels its edges, maybe weighs it a moment in his hand... then drops it into his sack. The second stone he grabs is sharper on the edges though its surface is smooth. In it goes. The third and fourth rocks are heavier, but good rocks for a slingshot. Plop. Plop. The fifth is flat, about 1/2 inch thick and 1 inch wide... it's smooth and almost perfectly rounded... David feels its surface a moment and ponders his situation and then, swallowing his fear and offering it to God, goes to face his giant.

When David knelt in that stream to gather the five stones - the arsenal - he would use to battle Goliath, I wonder what was going through his mind. There had to be a certain amount of fear -- he was just a boy afterall, and he had only ever battled in defence of his sheep... never in defence of his people. But at the same time, what outweighed the fear, was the faith -- the faith that comes from the best rock there is: the Rock that is God.

What do you do when you are about to face a giant? Do you plunge your hand into that creek, grab about under its surface for anything -- anything -- that could possibly wound the giant, without any real thought as to how you can destroy it? Or do you, like David, patiently select five stones, praying all the while, confident that one of those stones will fell a problem bigger than yourself?

Before January 2, I would have been in the former category -- my hands were damp from many years of reaching into many a pool, reaching for sticks and bramble to try and fend off giants different varieties... and never really succeeding.

On Sunday, my friend Hope, gave me a stone -- I call it David's stone -- that made me think of David in the moments before he was to face Goliath. I imagine the stone David used was much like this one -- flat, smooth, the perfect weight, not too big, not too small. Was he scared? Yes, but his faith in God to deliver him gave him the will to win a battle by claiming the victory he already knew God had won.

It is no secret that the last few months have been a big battle -- horrific thoughts, anxieties, fears and just plain depression -- have been my giant. I have used the best rock I knew how to use: God... through prayer, reading the Word, the Body of Christ. It hasn't always been easy -- battles never are -- but it helps to know that the Rock is there and the foundation is strong, especially when you feel anything but:

Deuteronomy 32:4: "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he".

Psalm 18:2: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold".

Psalm 144:1-2: "Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me".

Is my giant defeated? I would say yes and no. Yes in the sense that it is defeated because I know, now, how to fight back: prayer, the Word of God, the blood of Christ, solid Christian advice, the Body of Christ. No in the sense that I still have to fight. Perhaps we always do have to battle -- but when the battle you are fighting is God's, it's a battle worth waging for as long as it takes to overcome. I will tell you this though, every day - EVERY day - I gain ground... and that's because everyday I am choosing to run my hand over that perfect Rock to remind myself that it only takes one (in the words of my friend) to make a giant fall.

The smooth stone. The perfect stone. The round one. The rock that can trip up the littlest of ogres to the largest of foes. The last one that David selected from the creek but the first one he grabbed from his satchel when he was face-to-face with an ogre.

Thanks to my friend Hope, I am holding a rock just like that right now... a rock that reminds me that, in any battle we are in, that it only takes One Rock, and a little faith, to knock down a giant of any size.

Friends, whatever giant you are facing, do yourselves a favor: Grab that Rock and use it.

You don't have to entertain those thoughts (Philipians 4:8).

You are not too weak to overcome (Philippians 4:13). 

Your fears are not too much for Him to carry (1 Peter 5:7).

He is stronger than even the mightiest and foulest of giants (1 Samuel 17:45-50).

You are perfect in His image (Hebrews 10:13-17).

It doesn't mean that your giant isn't scary or that the battle isn't tough -- but you are victorious. 

Giants - all giants - fall if they are battled properly and with the might of God. Count on it.

Take it from me: Choose to feel the strength of the stone. Not the weight of the giant.

With one small stone and a whole bucket of faith, David watched Goliath fall to his knees.

Don't you want to watch your giant do the same?