Eyes on God, Not the Problem

And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 1 Samuel 17:26

I’ve had a big problem looming over my head for a while. It has nothing to do with my sobriety, but still, it’s a conflict that involves my interaction with a significant number of people, and addressing it is something that I’ve been dreading. Whenever I think about it, I despair because I see no good outcome. It’s something I must do because it’s the right thing to do, but it’s going to be unpleasant, and I don’t know that addressing it is going to make things any better. So, I’ve been dragging my feet.

In thinking about today’s passage however, I realized that I’ve been focused on the problem and that I’ve prayed very little about it. This, of course, is absurd. I spend the first half hour of my praying. I write persistently about taking our trials to God, asking his will. Yet I have been focused completely on how big my problem is and I’ve not been focused on God, remembering that he’s much bigger than my problems.

Eyes on God, not the problem. That’s the lesson of today’s passage, in which we read about the heroics of David. In the story, Israel was positioned for battle with the Philistines, when the Philistines sent out their champion, Goliath – a hulk of a man – who taunted Israel. Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us (1 Samuel 17:8-9). No one in their right mind wanted to fight this giant, and so all Israel quaked in fear, except for David, who kept his focus not on the giant, but on God. The LORD . . . will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine (1 Samuel 17:37).

When faced with life’s trials, even when they threaten to overwhelm, I must remember the lesson of David. I must keep my eyes on God and not be consumed by the size of my problem. David’s story is no guarantee that I’ll always be victorious, but rather is a guarantee that in following God, I’ll always be doing the right thing. Daily, if I truly desire to live by faith, then I must take my problems to God, asking what he wants me to do. Then, I must do it, no matter how hard or scary that may be.