Life can be hard, harder than hard at times. There are those moments in all of our lives when we think the difficulty is so large that there is no way out. It’s over. I’ve come to the end. We so often face situations where we think all is lost, and we’re done. Forget about it. It will never change. It’s easy to lose heart in difficult times. Life allows things that begin to look as if all is against you. There is no way out. God will even send you a brother or a sister to encourage you, but you quickly dismiss their words and their help, because you’re convinced, it won’t change.

Elisha’s servant was in this exact place in 2 Kings 6. He woke up one morning to see a Syrian army approaching to capture him. It overwhelmed him. He cried out to Elisha, “Alas, my master, what shall we do?” With all that he saw, he panicked. He didn’t know what to do. But Elisha did. He prayed. He prayed that God would open the eyes of his servant, so that he could see it’s not as bad as it appeared.

Just like Elisha’s servant, what is needed in times like these is for God to open our eyes to see what we cannot see spiritually.

There is a hidden spiritual realm all around us. It’s real but unseen. There is the physical and the spiritual. Unfortunately, the physical tends to get all of our attention and focus. It forces itself into the forefront, into our face, our mind! You get an email. A phone call. Eyes see. Hearts feel. Minds race. It’s easy to lose sight of the spiritual because of the physical. We have to train ourselves to be sensitive to see the spiritual.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NKJV).

Sadly, living as we do in this material world, we get so involved in the physical, material things of life, where that is all we ever see.

We lose sight of the spiritual. We lose sight of God! We get so concerned about the opposition that is facing us. The power of the enemy, especially when we begin to fight the forces of the world. How hard it is. How hopeless it seems! We are like this servant. What we see discourages us! ALAS! We falsely conclude almost every day, “Oh there’s no way we can withstand them!”

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4, NKJV).

“What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else” (Romans 8:31-32, NLT).

These truths are ours in Christ. Don’t forget them. Memorize them. Hide them in your heart. God is greater. God is stronger. God is faithful. When our eyes are on the situation, panic takes over. We freak out when we see our enemies, when we face our difficulties.

Pastor Chuck Smith taught us, “The longer we look at our problem, the bigger it gets!” It’s true! The problems surrounding our lives can seem so big that we don’t even see or feel God anymore! We are like Elisha’s servant here saying, “It’s over! Nothing we can do. Let’s just throw up our hands and give up.” Don’t give up!

Oh, that God would open our eyes, that we might see the spiritual.

Elisha prayed that his servant’s eyes would be open, and they were! He saw the stronger army of God surrounding the place. I pray that in every situation we are in, we would not only see the problems around us but also the solutions! When the eyes of the servant were open, he could see the spiritual parts behind the scenes; he saw that the angels of the Lord were surrounding the Syrians, the horses and chariots of fire surrounding the Syrian army. What a difference it made in his whole outlook.

“And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17, NKJV).

When we only look at the material things, so often we say, “We’ve had it!”, but when God opens our eyes, and we see the spiritual dimension, it changes completely. We say, “They’ve had it!” Oh, that we would see the power of God! The power that God has made available to us. Those resources that are ours in the realm of the Spirit.

Looking back, isn’t it true that God has been faithful? Isn’t it true God was faithful? What was the big problem 10 years ago? Ten days ago? God came through. He did then. He will again!

The story of David and Goliath is a familiar one to us all. But could it be that in the familiar, we miss the important? Three principles about conquering giant problems in our own lives are taught through the story of this one young man.

Imagine the story. The scene is tense. As they had done for 40 days, the Israeli army has gone down into the valley to face off. The giant came down and mocked them. In the midst of this drama, David shows up. Having been sent on a mission by his father to deliver the cheese and bread and check on the status of the battle, he goes right out into the valley to find his brothers.

When he hears Goliath’s taunts, he starts asking questions, and then it happens. An attack he wasn’t expecting! His oldest brother criticizes him. It’s as if the attack came out of nowhere. Eliab says in 1 Samuel 17:28, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”

It happens to us all the time, doesn’t it? You’re just trying to get things done, do the right thing and solve problems, and someone, maybe even someone in your own family, goes on the attack. They criticize. They judge. You feel misunderstood. Your immediate impulse is to defend, justify or even attack back. And it’s right here in the story where we get our first very important lesson about conquering giant problems in our lives. Notice what David does in verse 30. “He then turned away…” He didn’t get sucked in. He didn’t defend himself. He just turned away. Why? Because that wasn’t the most important battle to fight.

Oh, if we could learn that one lesson, how much more could we accomplish? We wouldn’t get sidetracked by petty arguments. We’d be able to focus on the important issues at hand.

Lesson 1: Choose the Right Battles

That’s just the first lesson… We have two more to learn.

As David watches the giant rant, his passions are stirred, and he goes to King Saul and offers his services. Notice Saul’s response, because in it is the second attack we often experience in our own lives. Saul says in verse 33, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man…”

Did you see it? “You are not able…” ”You are only….” Those are the words of the enemy, and sometimes they come from those who are supposed to be on our side. Sometimes they come from our own heart as the evil one attacks us with doubts. “You’re only a mom without a real job.” “You’re only unemployed.” “You aren’t able to do this. You’re not strong enough, organized enough or confident enough.” Those are lies of the enemy, the accuser, who wants to limit you and me.

David wasn’t deterred. He saw the enemy. He knew God would deliver. He wouldn’t even wear the king’s armor. Why? Because David thought differently about the battle. He knew that God was more powerful than this giant, and he was ready to go out and take him down. Two lessons so far:

Lesson 1: Choose the Right Battles

Lesson 2: With the Right Thinking

And there’s one more lesson we can’t miss. As David goes down to fight Goliath, the giant tries to provoke him to fight his way. Goliath says in verse 43-44, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks…Come here and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

And Goliath was right! If David would’ve come close to Goliath he would have lost the battle. David won this battle because he refused to fight with the same weapons as Goliath. David use weapons of the air. He was a slinger, not a swordsman. A slinger beats a swordsman any day.

How often are you provoked to fight a battle with your spouse and end up in a yelling match? Or when kids argue, why argue with them? We are different. We don’t fight the battle the same way. We don’t fight with people who fight, argue with people who argue, or yell with people who like to yell.

2 Corinthians 10:4 reminds us, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

We all have giant battles to conquer. God wants to do amazing things in and through us. He wants to empower us to overcome and gain the victory. Notice David’s response to Goliath in verse 46. “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.” The battle will be won so that “the whole world will know that there is a God.” The battle you fight today is not just for you, but God wants to bring you victory to reveal that testimony inside of you. He wants to empower you not only to help you win, but so that others can see the power of God through you.

How does it happen? Keep these three Lessons in mind as you go out to conquer your giant battles.

Lesson 1: Fight the Right Battles
Lesson 2: With the Right Thinking

Lesson 3: Using the Right Weapons

And after the giant fell, David went over and took that sword that was designed to destroy him, and with it cut off Goliath’s head. Total victory. The very thing that was meant by the enemy to destroy you is the thing God wants to use to give you total victory.

What giant battle does God want you to conquer today? Maybe you’ll say, “I’m not just going to stay in this marriage, but I’m actually going to love my husband.” “I’m not just going to endure this job I’m in, but I’m going to bless all those people I come in contact with.” “I’m going to overcome this addiction.”

Yes, the giant problem in your life is huge. It’s tough. But the question isn’t “How big is your giant?” The question is, “How big is your God?” Go out and do some conquering today, facing your giant problems with God’s grace.