The Valley of Elah. Have you ever been there? It is in Israel. I am going to predict that you may not have been to the Valley of Elah, but that you have been to a Valley of Elah, sometime in your life. The older you are the more times you have probably stood there.

It is the valley where we meet our giants. David was anointed to serve God as a young shepherd boy. He was sent to deliver lunch to his brothers fighting on the front lines, for King Saul. He will deliver more than lunch before the day is done. He will slay the warrior giant fighting for the Philistines. A giant who was about nine feet tall. Huge man with a loud mouth. Talking trash across the valley to Saul’s army. Then David arrived with the lunch. He did not like how this giant was speaking to God’s army of warriors. None of Saul’s soldiers wanted to approach the giant there in the valley. Their fears overtook them. Stones from a brook and a sling are selected as the weapon of choice. They will take the giant Goliath, to the ground. David began the road to becoming David the King of Israel, from his encounter in the Valley of Elah.

~Thought For Today~

Our giants mock us and threaten us in many ways. They talk bold trash to us. They try to make us afraid. Make us forget who we are and who joins the battles with us. They appear at the beside of our loved ones. In the middle of a crushing illness. In the battles for families, during divorce. When friends forsake us or enemies attack. Those are just a few of the giants who challenge us.

Was David scared? It really doesn’t seem so. Though the cowardly soldiers tried to protect him up with soldiers armor that was far too big and much too heavy, he would remove it, and walk out in his work clothes. His shepherd attire. He had all the courage and protection he needed. He knew God was going to go with him. God had helped him with bears and lions as a shepherd guarding his flock. This was going to be another, David plus God, equals victory.

Sometimes, in the heat of the battle, we forget how powerful our God is and how hard He will fight for us. We feel that we are meeting our foe in the valley, unprotected and alone. Never! We have to pick up our stones with the confidence of David. March to face our foe with courage, assured that we will win the battle. We have an unseen troop of warriors dispatched to stand with us.

Our stories vary from person to person. But if we are believers, they are the same in one respect. We all meet a giant at some point in our life. But we never meet the enemy alone. God will give us the courage and the words to say. Now…Can you say that you have visited the Valley of Elah?

~Scripture For Today~

1 Samuel 17:41-47

41  Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42  When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43  The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44  The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” 45  Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46  This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47  and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” (NASB)

~Prayer For Today~

Hello Father! We have learned that this life here, has giants from time to time. We need to be reminded that the battles we face are yours. Our part is to meet our giants in the valley and You will take it from there. Courage Father, give us courage. You are our warrior, our shield and He who will deliver us in victory. Forgive us of our sins. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

©2015 Kathy Ledbetter. All Rights Reserved.

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