Facing Giants When You Feel Small

I just read the story of David and Goliath. I’d heard bits and pieces growing up: something about a boy and a giant and some stones. But sitting with it now, as an adult who's been through some things, it hit different.

Because this isn’t just a children’s story.
It’s a story about fear and faith.
About underdogs and impossible odds.
And about what God can do with someone who simply says, “Here I am.”

Here’s what surprised me the most: David wasn’t supposed to win.

This giant, Goliath, was terrifying. Like, actually terrifying. Over nine feet tall. Covered in armor. Carrying a sword that probably weighed more than David himself.

And every single day, he stood out in the open, taunting, threatening, daring someone to come fight him. The whole Israelite army was frozen. Even the king didn’t move.

But then this teenage shepherd boy shows up, delivering lunch to his brothers. And instead of running away in fear like everyone else, he’s like:

“Who is this guy, anyway? And why is no one doing anything?”

That part gave me chills. Because David saw what no one else could see: not just the size of the giant, but the size of his God.

David didn’t come in with strength. He came in with remembrance.

When the king told David he was too young, too small, too untrained, David said something that stuck out to me:

“The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37)

He didn’t say, “I’ve got this.”
He said, “God’s done it before. He’ll do it again.”

I realized: David wasn’t confident in himself; he was confident in God’s track record.

And that made me pause and ask…
What has God already brought me through that I’m forgetting when I face today’s fear?

David didn’t fight with armor — he fought with confidence in God.

When Saul offered David his royal armor, David turned it down. It didn’t fit. It wasn’t his.

How often do we try to fight our battles using someone else’s tools? We scroll Instagram for answers, copy someone else’s strategy, or think, “If I could just be more like her…”

But David didn’t need to be Saul.
He just needed to remember who his God was.

“The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
—1 Samuel 17:37

He didn’t just believe in God. He remembered Him.
He remembered what God had already done.
And that remembrance gave him courage to face what was ahead.

David didn’t defeat Goliath with force. He defeated him with faith.

David knew the battle wasn’t really his. It was the Lord’s.

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty…”
—1 Samuel 17:45

Can you imagine standing in front of a giant and saying that?

David didn’t shrink back. He didn’t flinch.
Because he wasn’t fighting with fear; he was standing in faith.

Not in his strength. Not in his aim.
But in the power and presence of the One who had never let him down.

God didn’t need David to be strong. He just needed him to be willing.

Let’s not forget: David was young. Overlooked by his brothers. Dismissed by the king. Just a shepherd boy with a sling and five smooth stones.

But God saw something different. God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
He’s not looking for the strongest. He’s looking for the surrendered.

And that gives me hope.

Because I don’t always feel brave.
But I can still show up with my stones and my mustard-seed faith.
I can still say: “Here I am, Lord. Use me.”

What Goliath are you facing today?

Let’s be real: we all face Goliaths.
They don’t always look like 9-foot warriors.
Sometimes they’re invisible battles:
➤ Infertility
➤ Anxiety
➤ Financial fear
➤ Grief that won’t let go
➤ A diagnosis that changed everything

Maybe it’s a delay you didn’t expect.
Maybe it’s the enemy whispering lies that you’ll never be enough, never be healed, never be whole.

And in those moments, the enemy’s voice sounds an awful lot like Goliath’s : loud, mocking, relentless.

And just like David, we don’t feel ready. We don’t feel strong. We feel small. Insecure. Unqualified.

But that’s exactly where faith begins.

Because the point of this story isn’t that David was brave.
The point is that God was with him.

And if He was with David… He’s with us, too.

Go read 1 Samuel 17. A true account of what God can do with someone small and willing.

Because giants still fall.
And God still moves.

Even through people like us.