Remember What Your Beloved Has Done

"David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee." (1 Samuel 17: 37)

When the Philistine garrisons aligned themselves against the troops of Israel under disgraced and rejected King Saul (1 Samuel 15: 26), they were afraid, filled with reproach because of the exiled champion Goliath. The giant of the enemies of Israel, clothed in brass (which speaks of judgment), taunted the armies of the living God for forty days and nights.

Beloved David, a picture of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, arrived to supply his older brothers. When he heard the reproaches of Goliath, David replied:

"What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh 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)

David was not only thinking victory, but also thinking of the reward that lay in store for the man who would defeat the defiant giant. Despite the shame which his brothers heaped upon him, David continued demanding what would happen to the man who took down Goliath. The scripture writes:

"And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him." (1 Samuel 17: 31)

When you face a trial, rehearse to yourself the words of your Beloved savior Jesus Christ, in whom you are fully accepted before the Father (Ephesians 1: 6).

When David finally confronted Saul, he pledged to take down the Philistine. When the timid king of Israel questioned the ruddy youth of Bethlehem, David rehearsed all that the Lord had done for him. Whether facing a bear or a lion, David knew and believed in the love-covenant that he had with the Lord God, and therefore he knew that he would take down the Giant Goliath.

We today have a better token of God's love and favor, the surety that God is for us: Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2: 2):

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8: 31-32)

Look to the Cross, to the Finished Work of Jesus Christ, where every sin, every shame, every wickedness in you has been punished and put away for ever. In Christ's death and resurrection, behold God's love for you:

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 10)

See this love perfected in you, whom God sees as His own Beloved Son:

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world."

Know and believe in His perfect love, and watch every fear dispelled from your life:

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear." (1 John 4: 18)

Remember what your heavenly Beloved has done for you, and you will be more than a conqueror (Romans 8: 37) no matter what trials you may face!