Facing a Giant? You need CELEBRATION because of God

Remember the song?

Only a boy named David
Only a little sling
Only a boy named David
But he could pray and sing
Only a boy named David
Only a rippling brook
Only a boy named David
But five little stones he took
And one little stone went in the sling and the sling went round and round
And one little stone went in the sling and the sling went round and round
And round and round and round and round and round and round and round
And one little stone went up in the air
And the giant came tumbling down

And so it happened with David and Goliath. And after the giant fell, what did this seemingly meek and quiet shepherd boy do? He took Goliath’s own sword and cut off the giant’s head. How come that wasn’t part of the song we sang as kids?

But I love what David did next – In 1 Samuel 17:54 we learn that he took Goliath’s weapons, no doubt his sword and spear, and put it in his own tent. He kept these for himself. Why? I believe that David wanted to have a memory item to remind him daily of the victory that God gave him over Goliath.

Throughout the Old Testament, whenever God did something amazing, He always told the people to do something to remember and celebrate it. After God sent the death angel through Egypt, the Jews were to remember it with the Passover Celebration each year. After Esther saved the Jews from Haman, who was the Old Testament Hitler, the feast of Purim was instituted and still takes place today. Such was the case with David. He could now look at the big sword and spear every day and remember what God had done. That is the 5th need in facing our giants. We need COMMUNICATION with God. We need COMMITMENT to God. We need CONFIDENCE in God. We need COURAGE for God. But we also need a heavy dose of CELEBRATION because of God.

I had the thrill of visiting the Valley of Elah a couple of years ago and standing in that very brook where David picked up his 5 stones. I too picked up 5 stones that day (pictured above) and I keep them on the bookshelf in my office as a daily reminder that with God I can face any giant that comes into my life. So can you! And when God slays the giant, don’t forget to remember it and celebrate it. That something we can’t do enough – celebrate the victories God has given us.