4:12 Productions Blog

Overcoming Fear: A Biblical Perspective

March 4th, 2010

I preached a sermon recently from 1 Sam 17…you know…the David and Goliath story.  It was interesting to see what David did to overcome the fear that gripped a nation as Israel faced Goliath and the Philistines.  If you are facing a situation that is causing you stress or anxiety, take these few lessons from David: 

1. Don’t Forget Who God Is –When David volunteered to fight the giant, King Saul quickly trying to discourage the young shepherd from going forward.  The King said, Goliath has been a soldier from his youth, and you still a boy.  It would’ve been easy to focus on what people were saying, but David chose another path.  He reminded Saul of his encounter with a lion and a bear as a shepherd and how the Lord had delivered him from the paws of these beasts.  He later told Goliath that God was the God of the armies of Israel.  This infers that David knew something of the power of God through Israel’s military history.  Remember Joshua? Deborah? Gideon? Samson?  David drew strength from all these examples as he faced what many believed was impossible.  What do remember about the God you serve?
2. Declare The Victory With Your Mouth- The young warrior told Goliath, ‘Today God will deliver you into my hand and I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds’…WOW.  When was the last time we got THAT specific about how we plan to come out victorious?  I believe David got a vision of that victory and published it with his mouth.  Whether you get a Rhema Word about your triumph or you are standing on God’s written Word-DECLARE it out of your mouth.  You’ll be surprised at how much more encouraged you will feel and how much power you will release as a result.
3. Act Quickly -After all the threats Goliath hurled towards David, the Bible says that when Goliath arose, “David hastened and ran toward the army and the Philistine”.  David realized that he was in a moment of destiny, that God had called him for such as time as that one.  To focus on the size of Goliath, the giant’s armor bearer or the Philistine army would have been to allow fear to creep in.  He would’ve lost focus like Peter did when walking on the water.  When the anointing moves you, don’t think twice!  Just do what He is calling you to do!  Move faster than the enemy!  Notice when Goliath rose, David was already running to meet the challenge!  Don’t even give the enemy a chance to size you up: before the devil knows what hit him, you should be all over your purpose!   
4. Celebrate with a Praise- David cut off Goliath’s head after the giant went down.  The giant had already been miraculously slain with the slingshot so why cut off his head? It was customary for the victor to take the head of the defeated as a trophy.  In other words, to celebrate the win.  Notice the Philistine army had not dispersed yet.  Any one of those soldiers could’ve shot David. But when the Philistine army saw David lift Goliath’s head above his corpse, the whole army began to run and the army of Israel gained strength from this act.  When we celebrate our victory, even when we are not totally in the clear, we can have amazing results!  Any demonic forces that are still clinging to our lives will have to flee and we will be a source of strength to those whose faith is failing. 

This blog was written by Stanley Porter, President of 4:12 Productions and award nominated writer/composer of three urban gospel albums.  To find out more on Stanley Porter visit www.stanleyporter.net

Entry Filed under: Life, Ministry