John 11:35, 2 Corinthians 10:4, Isaiah 54: 17, Psalm 91, John 14:2

Howard Drummond

It was December 21st 2007 whilst driving to Birmingham from Wales that I received news that my father had passed away. Finding the next slip road we stopped at Tesco in Bangor and I wept. We wept.

It was then that I was reminded that Jesus did the very same thing in light of the news received about Lazarus (John 11:35). This made me feel quite normal in light of the news I had just received myself and I would say to other people that crying is a natural response to sad news we receive from time to time. Here I was 'a man of God' crying.

"He's in Heaven" my wife said. I wasn't so sure. And it was with these words that the battle commenced. This giant grew very quickly, and it was a giant that I had to face and find assurance of in God.

We perhaps know the story of David and Goliath. David was a young boy of about 12 years old, a young man after God's own heart. Goliath on the other hand was the giant. The giant I faced was whether my father was in heaven, and very much like the story it taunted me. My level of faith fell to an all time low. As I was in training to become an ordained minister I wanted to give it all up, throw in the towel as it were. This was yet another giant that taunted me.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:4:

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (not of this world) but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.

In Isaiah 54: 17 it says that 'no weapon formed against us shall prosper'.

We face many things in life, and they may appear at times to become like giants as they seem impossible or too big to handle or deal with. Other people may try and help, very much like Saul who tried to put his armour on David in order to fight the giant Goliath. But it just didn't work. This is not to say that people can't help, but I think that the right people must be used to help us get through the times where we are experiencing some really big 'giants'. Even perhaps his brothers thought that David was crazy. I think I'd think the same about David if he was my brother about to fight a giant that everyone else is afraid of.

But David knows that he can slay the giant because he has God. This young man after God's own heart knew about giants as he had already slayed the bear and the lion. We know that we have and can deal with some things with God's help. But having picked up 5 smooth stones, David along with his weapon had God's continual assurance that He was with him. Not only was God with him when facing the lion and the bear, God was also going to be with him in slaying the giant that was before the Israelites.

David, although small in stature, was mighty in Spirit. Although I was small in stature I began to recognise that I, too, was mighty in Spirit. I had to trust in God's weapons, the very things that he has put in my hands, very much like David trusted his weapons in order to slay the giant before him.

In applying these very assurances and weapons to my situation I was able to come through and win the battle. I was assured where my father was upon finding a very poignant scripture; which was Psalm 91, my father's favourite Psalm. In gaining assurance from the word of God I was further assured that my father was in the best place, which he also prepares for us. (John 14:2).

Being mighty in spirit, a man after God's own heart, trusting and being dependable on Him through all things, along with having His word, we can slay the giants that we face day by day.