TALK BACK

• DAY 172
• FAITH FILES: DAVID
• SCRIPTURES: 1 SAMUEL 17:41-47

The Philistine started walking toward David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. He kept coming closer, and when he got a good look at David, he was filled with scorn for him because he was just a nice, good-looking boy. He said to David, “What’s that stick for? Do you think I’m a dog?” And he called down curses from his god on David. “Come on,” he challenged David, “and I will give your body to the birds and animals to eat.” David answered, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defied. This very day the Lord will put you in my power; I will defeat you and cut off your head. And I will give the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds and animals to eat. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a God, and everyone here will see that the Lord does not need swords or spears to save his people. He is victorious in battle, and he will put all of you in our power.”

Dear Goliath, if I were you, I would have walked away when I saw a little boy come at me without any armour or weapon, when mighty men, including the king, cowered. At the very least you should have asked yourself why? Why is this little boy so confident that he is coming at me? Instead, you made the grave mistake of underestimating David. But this is what all enemies do. They are so confident that where they should be curious or cautious they become cocky. That is the divine strategy that brings their defeat. That’s how we become victorious.

However, we cannot skip over the fact that although Goliath scorned David, he proceeded to curse him using his god. The almighty Goliath was backed by his god. He knew well enough not to attempt battle without spiritual backing, yet we think we can face our opposition just like that. Let me burst your bubble, this world is spiritual. Every opposition has fortification. Nobody is sitting around waiting for you to come displace them without a fight. I say this to inform you not scare you. People of courage are not afraid of any god but Yahweh.

Respond

David heard him and responded to him in the name of his God. He understood that battles are not only won in the spirit but also with words. Words have the ability to bring death and life. When your enemy speaks death you have to respond with life. You cannot let negative words spoken over you go unanswered. Every word spoken is on an assignment and only another word can render it impotent.

So they said you will never make it, what did you say in response? Your colleague said you will never rise in this company, what was your response? When that unruly client called you up on the phone and cursed you, what was your response? Words should not go unanswered. Goliath called his god, and David called his God. He told David that he will kill him and feed him to the birds, and David returned those words back to him.

Beloved, you need to respond but do so with the word and the name of Jesus. Do not be afraid to condemn every tongue that wants to rise up against you in judgment. Do not be afraid to speak life.

Now is a good time to open up your mouth and address the word that you can remember that have been released against you.