How to Prevail Over the Adversaries in Your Life

As David looked back on his past experiences and reflected on the goodness of God that had already been bestowed on his life, he could now look straight into the face of this conflict with Goliath and declare to King Saul:

 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 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 17:36,37

Notice Saul’s response to David’s desire to be used of God:

And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour…. 1 Samuel 17:38,39

David had already killed the lion and the bear without the use of any natural armor or weaponry. However, because of the size of the menacing Philistine giant, Saul thought that David needed more than God’s faithfulness!

It was as though Saul was saying to the young man who stood before him, “David, this fight with Goliath is going to be far more intense than your conflict with the lion and the bear, so let me help you! Let me put my helmet on your head and dress you in my coat of mail. And, here, David — take my sword with you, too, and use it like it’s your own!”

Can you imagine how silly young David must have looked in Saul’s massive armor? You can be sure that Saul’s intentions were pure. He wanted David to be safe and adequately equipped with armor equal to Goliath’s armor. However, Saul’s counsel was extremely defective. David had never worn such armor before. Had he gone to battle clothed in the king’s heavy armor, he would have been so weighed down that he would have been unable to successfully wage warfare.

This is the reason verse 39 goes on to say, “...And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.”

Previous to this time, David had defeated his enemies without fleshly weapons. Knowing that he was unaccustomed to these kinds of natural weapons and that they would therefore do him no good, David took off Saul’s armor and “…took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine” (v. 40).

Notice it says that David “…drew near to the Philistine.” David, a young man in his teenage years, charged a giant with 700 pounds of weaponry — with nothing in his hands to kill this giant but a sling and five stones!

 According to the natural realm, David was not equipped to fight this kind of foe. But according to the spirit realm, David was dressed in the armor of God and empowered by the power of God. Goliath could not see these spiritual weapons with his physical eyes. Therefore, he had no idea that David was “dressed to kill”!

 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.  And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 1 Samuel 17:41-43

Goliath was expecting more! He thought the Israelites had finally found a match for him. This is the reason the man who bore his shield went before the giant; this shield-bearer was to protect Goliath from the blows of his challenger. But when Goliath looked around and saw only small, young David, he was shocked. Immediately the Philistine giant began to mock both David and his God!

Goliath began to use his tools of mental and verbal harassment, just like the devil does today. Attempting to intimidate David and paralyze him with fear, “…the Philistine said unto David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field” (v. 44). Just as the entire army of Israel had been functionally immobilized for 40 days by Goliath’s outrageous claims, now the Philistine giant was proceeding to use that same strategy again in an attempt to immobilize and paralyze David with preposterous, bloated boasts and lying allegations!

Prevailing Over the Philistines in Your Life

If David had turned his eyes from the Lord and stopped meditating on His faithfulness, he would have begun to consider what Goliath had to say. Soon those threats would have immobilized David, just as they had immobilized the armies of Israel.

But before the giant’s threats had an opportunity to take root in his soul and produce paralyzing fear, David spoke forth his declaration of war against the enemy:

…Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and He WILL give you into our hands. 1 Samuel 17:45-47

Once David made his declaration of war, he wasted no time. Verse 48 says, “And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to David, that David hastened....”

 This must have shocked Goliath! Most challengers ran away from him, but David “hastened.” In other words, when the moment of conflict finally came and David saw Goliath coming, he picked up his sling and his five stones and RAN toward the giant. It was as though the young man was saying to himself with relish, “Now the action begins!”

Then David made his courageous move: “And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him...” (vv. 49,50).

But wait — David wasn’t finished yet! While Goliath lay with his face to the ground, stunned by the small pebble that had been hurled from his young opponent’s sling, David seized the opportunity to make sure the job was finished!

 …But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 1 Samuel 17:50,51

How about you? Are you tired of the Philistines in your life? Are you tired of being mentally harassed and emotionally tormented by the lying insinuations and slanderous accusations of the adversary? How would you like to sling a stone into the head of those accusing thoughts and drop them stunned to the ground — and then cut off that fowl head so those thoughts can never harass you again?

This is precisely why Paul urges us, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11)!

Natural training and education is good, and we all need to receive as much of it as we possibly can. However, we must all eventually discover that natural weapons and natural education will not help us in our fight with unseen, spiritual enemies.

In such moments, we must move beyond the realm of our fleshly means of defense and enter into the realm of spiritual armor. This armor will empower each one of us to successfully “…stand against the wiles of the devil.”

The Devil’s Mode of Operation

 It would be a great injustice to conclude without explaining what the name “devil” means. Once you have an understanding of this name, you will know it was the nature of the devil himself that was working through Goliath to intimidate the armies of Israel.

The name “devil” is taken from the Greek word diabolos and is a compound of the words dia and ballo. The word dia carries the idea of penetration, and the word ballo means to throw something, such as a ball or a rock.

 Literally, the word diabolos describes the repetitive action of hitting something again and again — until finally the wall or membrane is so worn down that it can be completely and thoroughly penetrated.

Thus, the name “devil” (diabolos) is not only a proper name for this archenemy of the faith, but it also denotes his mode of operation. The devil is one who strikes repeatedly, again and again, until he finally breaks down a person’s mental resistance. Once that person’s mental resistance has been breached, the enemy then strikes with all his fury to penetrate and take captive that person’s mind and emotions.

This is how the enemy works! He will repeatedly try to hit you with lies, suggestions, accusations, and allegations, bombarding you with one slanderous assault after another. In this way, the devil attempts to wear you down — looking for an opportunity to make his move and take you captive in one of your weaker moments.

 If the enemy can find you with your guard down, he will then try to pave a road into your mind (methodos) so he can confuse your emotions with “mind games” (noemata). His goal is to deceive you to the point that you actually begin to believe his threats. If he succeeds, your false perceptions will empower his lies to become a reality in your life.

Now you can better understand the sense of urgency behind Paul’s command in Ephesians 6:11. If you’re ever going to live free from the enemy’s tormenting lies and accusations, it is absolutely imperative that you “clothe yourself with the whole panoply — the loinbelt, breastplate, shoes and greaves, shield, helmet, sword, and lance — that comes from God, that you may have explosive and dynamic power to stand proud and upright, face to face and eyeball to eyeball against the roads that the slanderer would try to pave into your mind!”