Have you ever looked at a situation and could not help but think that the desired outcome was impossible? That you could not survive the storm ahead? There is a phrase that I have heard so many times in my life, that I almost ignore it when I hear it. The phrase is to "conquer your Goliath." As I listened to Rev. Rick Dake talk about the story of David and Goliath I realized a few new truths about the story.
    
David was a small boy. It is impossible for a small boy to defeat a man who is over 9 feet tall and is a trained warrior. That whole scenario is enough to laugh at, as Goliath did. It wasn't the fact that David had the courage, blind faith, or stupidity (depending how you look at it) to run out on the battlefield with rocks and leather. It was the power of God. It would not have mattered if Goliath was 20 feet tall with steel skin. God is mightier. The story is not for David's glory, it was for God's. If you read about the rest of David's life, he was quite the screw up. Yet God used him over and over for His glory.

I think our biggest mistakes when confronting life's biggest challenges, is that we look to gain glory from the victory. Great life victories are for the glory of God. Because of this, I would bet that we aren't conquering like we should because of our prideful view. I know I am not conquering the way God could. So when we read that after David killed Goliath, he cut off Goliath's head and held it up for all to see, he was not showing off. He held it up proclaiming the great victory from God. Our Goliath's today may be in the form of different struggles and circumstances, but regardless, let's go into battle for the glory of God and lift up the heads of our Goliaths!

In recent days I have heard the stories and watched first hand the devastation of people and families being ripped apart by a broken marriage. On top of that I heard a phenomenal message today from Pastor Dave Fry on the topic of divorce, an often controversial topic. The stories of these broken relationships have often left me feeling helpless because there is nothing I can do to make the situation better, other than pray (which is still very powerful). 

Divorce causes a separation of a single unit. This does not mean two parting ways with a little residue of each other left over. It is a single unit ripped in half leaving massive scar tissue. Big scars are often numb, gaudy, protruding, and  without medical help they never go away.

Going straight to the Bible is what I like to do when looking into the answers of my proactive nature. What hit me while looking was the bigger picture of what this painful situation called 'divorce' represents. When I was in the process of asking Elizabeth to marry me, people would ask why I wanted to get married. My answer was (and still is) because I love her and want to love her like Christ loved the church (in true union). The Bible refers to this parallel of marriage and the Christ to church relationship just like the old testament talks about the Israelites being God's chosen people, His bride. When Israel would often sin against God, He called them an "adulterous nation." That refers to having prior covenant that was broken.

One of the most powerful moments in any war movie is when it seems that all hope is lost, and then the nearly failed hero looks up to see the hills lined with his friends who came to help. My favorite of all of these is in the movie Braveheart, where the English are trying to catch William Wallace. The English horsemen chased a few of Wallace's men, thinking they had them trapped against the highland cliffs. Wallace then emerged above them with a host of men telling the English they were done.

This past week I had the privilege of baptizing teens at Simpson Park Camp. As the ceremonies began I looked up from the pond to see people filing over the hill to witness changing lives. The symbolism here gives me the chills. Every person that came to watch was not just there for entertainment. They were there to show those getting baptized that they were not alone. They were entering not only a community of support, but a group of fellow warriors who were about to go to battle with them.

Spiritual warfare is real. We were never meant to go to battle alone. Jesus sent out the disciples in pairs. Elisha had an angelic army protecting him and the village he was in. Paul had Timothy. Peter, James, and John were always together. The Church of Acts met together every day, sharing all and NO ONE had a need. It's time to be those who come over the hill. Remind each other of the reason we need to be united: the battle.