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Here is what Jesus was speaking to my heart this Easter morning, “Peter, today I will use the gift of words I have entrusted to you in a different way. Today I will use you as my slingshot and place my words into it. I want you to hurl them at the Goliath whose name is fear and confusion. The words you pen and hurl at this Goliath will be like guided missiles, guided by the Holy Spirit. They will not miss their intended targets. As you do this in my name, it will be doomsday for these spirits. They have been haunting and taunting you and many others for eons. Today I will put an end to those spirits and strip them of all their power. Their voices will sound like babbling idiots in the hearts and minds of my redeemed. My chosen ones will no longer hide in caves or place their trust in pills to deal with fear and confusion. They will call upon the name of the Living God of Israel, just like the shepherd boy David did; and I will deliver them from the tormentor and they will be a part of my end-time army.”
David and Goliath – The first Book of Samuel, Chapter 17
32 “Don’t worry about a thing,” David told Saul. “I’ll take care of this Philistine!”
33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “How can a kid like you fight with a man like him? You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!”
34 But David persisted. “When I am taking care of my father’s sheep,” he said, “and a lion or a bear comes and grabs a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If it turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this heathen Philistine too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who saved me from the claws and teeth of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!”
Saul finally consented, “All right, go ahead,” he said, “and may the Lord be with you!”
38-39 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can hardly move!” he exclaimed, and took them off again. 40 Then he picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in his shepherd’s bag and, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, started across to Goliath. 41-42 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield-bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this nice little red-cheeked boy!
43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44 “Come over here and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals,” Goliath yelled.
45 David shouted in reply, “You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of the armies of heaven and of Israel—the very God whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head; and then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And Israel will learn that the Lord does not depend on weapons to fulfill his plans—he works without regard to human means! He will give you to us!”
48-49 As Goliath approached, David ran out to meet him and, reaching into his shepherd’s bag, took out a stone, hurled it from his sling, and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and the man fell on his face to the ground. 50-51 So David conquered the Philistine giant with a sling and a stone. Since he had no sword, he ran over and pulled Goliath’s from its sheath and killed him with it, and then cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.
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Twenty-two years ago I penned an epistle that I named: In Search of Sanity. Yes, I searched for sanity and yes, I found it. His name is Jesus. I learned that searching for sanity is not enough. I learned that the Lord does not need to depend on pills to heal us. He works without regard to human means! I learned that I had to be willing to fight for my sanity and keep fighting for it. Pills and potions were not to be my prescription for healing any longer. I learned that they only provided a temporary illusion of wellness.
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I fight best and write best when I am angry or my heart is filled with compassion. Today it is filled by both. I can’t score unless I am roaring. Like the shepherd boy David, today I am roaring. The Lion of Judah in me is roaring. I invite you to roar and score with me.
The day came some 46 years ago when I flushed my last pill down the toilet and adopted a totally different strategy and posture for dealing with giants. Like David, I called upon the Living God of Israel to drive out and excommunicate fear and confusion. My way may not be like your way, but feel free to try it.
Fear and Confusion are Spirits
Whenever a spirit of fear or confusion would try to waylay me, I called upon the name that is above all other names, the name of Jesus. I jumped into our swimming pool and raced back and forth. Vigorous physical exercise plus calling upon the name of Jesus exorcised the tormenting spirit every time or at least kept it at bay. Doing nothing or swallowing a pill was no longer an option. And when no pool was available, I cut the lawn, split firewood, washed the dishes or marched like a soldier in a nearby meadow. I had to be willing to keep on fighting and did. Couch potatoes don’t win wars.
The warfare lasted many years before the victory was mine and Satan stopped haunting and taunting me on a regular basis. Praying in tongues was another strategy that never failed to crowd out tormenting thoughts. But it took years of warfare before I learned to recognize the strategy of the tormentor and the subtle ways he operated. Whether they were in me or oppressed me I do not know. I will let theologians and psychologists debate that. Many giants stalked me – fear was only one of them. There were the spirits of murder, rage, anger, lust, greed, pride, discouragement and confusion. Pride and an accusing spirit were probably the most hideous and subtle of them all. The Lord admonished me to “shun pride and point not the finger.” Once I could name them and learned how they operated, they lost their grip on me. Now, filled with compassion and a fighting spirit, I am able and compelled to speak victory, hope, wisdom and encouragement to those who are looking for a better or different strategy. A major key to victory was my willingness to fight and keep on fighting. One pushup does not make us into a muscle man. Wrestling with or killing one giant does not make us into an overcomer; but it’s a good start.
I am who I am today because I kept on fighting, trusting and obeying God. I have the assurance that King Jesus will always come to my aid whenever I call upon His name. I learned that God rewards obedience. I learned that it is Christ in me who slays giants. I learned that in my weakness His strength is being perfected. I learned that I must continue to stay on guard. I learned that my testimony demoralizes the enemy. I learned that giants are not made of flesh and blood but try to recruit flesh and blood, you and I, to do their dirty work. I learned that I must give Jesus the glory for every victory. I learned that He directs my footsteps and directs the stones, the words in my slingshot. I learned that fighting giants is a part of our high calling in Christ Jesus while on earth.
Today I not only thank my heavenly Father for sending His Son Jesus; I also thank him for sending the giants that made me into a warrior. Without Jesus and without giants I would be a wimp. I can honestly say, “I would rather die in battle than be paralyzed by fear and reach for another pill.” Yes, pills and potions can easily make wimps out of warriors. Why? We don’t fight as long as we have the illusion of “feeling good or safe.’’ We only fight when our life or the life of a loved one is threatened. Relying on pills and potions is the equivalent of turning off the fire alarm when our house is on fire.
I hate the way that drugs, both legal and illegal drugs, are so freely offered and so available to people ravaged by the spirit of fear. I met a man who feels like I do. His name is James Stacey. He wrote a book that inspires others to fight for their sanity and keep on fighting. It is called: Schizophrenia Defeated. I met a medical doctor who sees pain and problems like I do and addresses them like I would. He wrote a book titled: The Healing of Persons. His name is Paul Tournier. Read these two books carefully and you may cut your trips to the doctor and pharmacy in half.
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It’s so good to know that others are fighting alongside of us. Be encouraged, there are “others,” both seen and unseen, tangible and intangible that are cheering for us. You may be one of them. If you see yourself as another “David” in training for reigning, I would love to meet you or hear from you.
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I am not alone in this fierce battle. In fact, I finally realized that it was not even my battle I was fighting, but the Lord’s. I was someone Jesus recruited and trained to deliver these smooth stones targeted for the temple of Goliath. He not only lost the battle, he lost the war. He lost the war two-thousand years ago. The reason he attacks some people more than others is because he has an idea who may be a potential threat to him. Yes, he is going to have a migraine from which he will never recover and he already knows it. The pain and torment he inflicted on others will be his eternal reward. His victims will no longer be asleep at the wheel. They will have the mind of Christ. They will know how to fight and whom they are fighting.
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I am fiercely determined. I will not to allow ungodly spirits of anger or fear or pills to ruin or rule my life; so help me God! Thank you Jesus for my marching orders. Who will march with me? Whether we are in heaven or on earth, we can march together, cheer for one another and dress each other’s wounds.
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“Because the Lord God helps me, I will not be dismayed. Therefore I have set my face like a flint to do his will, and I know that I will triumph.” Isaiah 50:7.
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