Crisis Management
1 Samuel 17
by Stephen May

Everybody likes to cheer for the underdog, don't they? People love to see someone beat the odds and beat the "giant". Whether it's Indiana Jones taking on the Nazis, or George Bailey taking on greedy Mr. Potter, people love to see the little guy win. That's why the '69 Mets, and the '68 Jets, and the USA Hockey team in the '72 Olympics have become American legends. Maybe this is because America's success is an "underdog" story. It doesn't seem likely that 13 tiny colonies living on limited resources in an undeveloped country could establish independence from the era's most powerful military force, yet we were able to do it.

From a human point of view, when the Christian church began it had an underdog's chance of succeeding. Think about it. The leader was dead, and 12 uneducated men were expected to carry on his work. In just a few years 11 of the men had been put to death, while the 12th man had been exiled. The religious and political powers of the early centuries invested a great deal of energy in an attempt to put an end to the Christian Church. Yet, this underdog movement continued to spread at a phenomenal rate--in spite of persecution and oppression.

Everybody likes a good "underdog" story. We like to cheer for the underdog, but not many of us really enjoy being the underdog. We like to watch people overcome tremendous obstacles, we just don't like to have to face the obstacles ourselves. Yet, it is inevitable that throughout our lives we will find ourselves in many situations where we will feel like we're the underdog, and we don't see how we can possibly beat the odds. No doubt there are some of you here today in this very situation--the challenges are too great, the opposition is too strong, your resources are too limited, and there's seemingly no way to win.

There's a story in the Bible of a young man who found himself in this situation. Of course, you know the story--the story of David and Goliath. This is the ultimate underdog story. You all know how it ends, but today we're going to examine three elements of this story--the Crisis, the Critics, and the Contest--and David's response to each one. As we look at how David responded to each situation, we can learn much about how to deal with challenges in our own lives. First of all, notice...

1. The Crisis
You know the background of this story. The Israelites were at war with the Philistines. They had come to a standoff, and now Goliath was challenging the Israelites to fight him. The Israelite army was in the midst of a crisis. They were facing a challenge that they did not believe they could win. Their crisis was, in many ways, like the crises we face in our lives. Let's consider the characteristics of the crisis. First of all...

a. The crisis was larger than life.
(v. 4) A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.

Talk about indestructible! As far as the Israelite soldiers were concerned, Goliath was too big to be defeated. That is what we think about the "giants" that we face. Maybe the giant is cancer, or a failing marriage, or financial problems--whatever it is, it seems bigger than we are.

For many years the Soviet Union was considered to be the greatest threat to our national security. During this time there was a certain mystique to the USSR that fanned the flame of our paranoia. There were alarmists warning us that their military is more powerful and more prepared than ours, their people are more committed to Communism than ours are to freedom, their children are better educated than our children, their society is more intellectual than ours, and on and on. Even though we eventually discovered otherwise, for a time the Soviets seemed larger than life. Secondly...

b. The crisis defies our power.
(v. 8) Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us!" Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

This is what giants do to us. We try to make our lives as smooth as possible. We try to be in control of every detail, and then a crisis comes along and reminds us how completely helpless we are. And the crisis doesn't have to be major. It can be a problem at work, or a problem at home, or the inability to defeat some bad habit, or any number of things--but it is always there to remind us that we are powerless. Thirdly...

c. The crisis will not go away.
(v. 16) For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.

The problem with a crisis is that it won't disappear. If you don't deal with it, it deals with you. It doesn't do any good to pretend it doesn't exist; it will continue to haunt you until you face it. The problem is, most crises are easy to ignore in the early stages. It is rare that a situation goes from "good" to "crisis level" overnight. Usually there is a process of deterioration... There is a breakdown in communication for months--maybe years--before the marriage deteriorates...Financial problems are just an "inconvenience" for many months until they mushroom into unmanageability...There are often telltale warnings of health problems long before we face the zero hour...But, as much as we try to ignore the situation, it just won't go away.

David's Response the Crisis....
So, in the midst of the crisis, David arrives at the scene. He sees Goliath make his challenge and he sees the Israelite army overcome with fear. And what is David's response? Listen to what he says...

(v. 26) "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

David was able to put the crisis into proper perspective. We can learn from his example. The best response to a crisis is God is bigger than any problem I will ever face. Secondly, notice...

2. The Critics
If you aspire to do anything worthwhile in life you will have to learn to endure criticism. If David had adopted the fearful attitude of the Israelite soldiers—-if he had been willing to do nothing about the crisis—he would have been left alone. But as soon as he began to talk about the possibility of defeating the giant, he was met with a barrage of criticism.

David is not the only dreamer in the Bible who was criticized for wanting to do God's will. Noah, Moses, Joseph, Nehemiah, Paul, Peter, (and, of course, Jesus) were all criticized for attempting to do something great for God's glory. Criticism should not come as a surprise to anyone who wants to accomplish something worthwhile, but that doesn't change the fact that criticism is painful to endure. It's a little easier to endure if you recognize some characteristics of critical people. First of all...

a. Critics are obsessed with the trivial.
(v. 28) When Eliab, David's oldest brother heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert?"

David's brother Eliab is typical of most critics. David is about to destroy a major threat to Israel's national security, and his brother is worried about the sheep. Critics have an amazing ability to focus on the trivial and neglect the crucial. Secondly...

b. Critics believe the worst about people.
(v. 28) "...I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

George Bernard Shaw wrote that "hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated." The criticism of others serves as a smoke-screen to make it less obvious that those who criticize aren't accomplishing anything with their own lives.

Francis Asbury, an 18th century bishop in the Methodist movement, was once criticized by a woman for being unsophisticated in his method of evangelism. Asbury politely asked the lady how many she had led to Christ in her life. The lady answered that she had not personally led anyone to faith in Christ. Asbury's response was, "Ma'am, I like my way doing it better than your way of not doing it."

David's Response to the Critics...
David's brother criticized him for wanting to defeat Goliath. He accused David of neglecting his responsibilities, he questioned David's motives, and he assaulted David's character. But David's brother never did anything about Goliath! Notice David's response to the criticism...

(v. 30) He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter.

David refused to be swayed by criticism. He recognized that the critics didn't know what they were talking about, and so he chose to disregard the criticism, but he wouldn't give up his dream of defeating Goliath.

You can be sure that if you try to accomplish anything great for God, you will be criticized by those who are doing nothing. The best response is to disregard the critics, but don't disregard your dream. Next, please notice...

3. The Contest
Until David stepped on the battle field, he could be regarded as just a little kid with big ideas. But once he lined up against Goliath, it became obvious that he was a man to be taken seriously. Even if he lost the battle, David proved that he had more character, integrity and faith than any soldier in the king's army--or even the king himself. David won the contest just by his willingness to enter the contest. Let's look at David's strategy in the battle.

a. David established the terms of battle.
(v. 40) Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

Notice that Goliath was forced to fight David on David's terms--not with a sword and spear, but with five smooth stones. Even the king tried to get David to wear cumbersome battle armor, but David refused. He knew the only way to meet this challenge was by doing what he did best.

It is said that the main reason Muhammad Ali was practically unbeatable during his prime was that he always made his opponent "fight his fight." He would "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.", and he always managed to set the pace for the match. Beneath all the self-adoration lay a great boxer who knew what he could do best and stuck to it. No wonder he made many far more powerful fighters believe he was "the greatest."

During Norman Vincent Peale's first pastorate, he was faced with the challenge of uniting a bickering church. When he visited the home of one of the feuding ladies, she tried to pull him into the battle by criticizing someone on the "other side." Instead, Norman Vincent Peale told the woman about a kind remark someone on "the other side" had made about her. This disarmed the woman, and enabled her to take the first step toward unity. Peale was able to accomplish the seemingly impossible because he didn't let anyone else establish the terms of battle. Secondly...

b. David refused to be intimidated.
Finally, David stood face to face with Goliath. You know the story. He had nothing but his slingshot and five smooth stones. When Goliath saw David approach, he tried to intimidate him.

(v. 44) "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"

David refused to be intimidated. He responded by saying...

(v. 45) "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, who you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

Can you imagine a teenage boy speaking with such boldness to an enemy warrior almost twice his size? David refused to be intimidated by Goliath; and he refused to run from the contest. Instead, he approached the contest with boldness.

Think about the challenges in your life. How do you speak to your giants? What is your attitude toward the contest? Are you intimidated, or do you dare speak to the giant with words such as "I'm going to cut off your head!"

David's response to the contest...
Our tendency is to be timid in the face of battle, but that is not the attitude we see in David. Instead, David approached Goliath with reckless abandon, because he knew that the result of the battle was not in his hands. Notice his words to Goliath...

"...for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

David's response to the contest can be summarized in the statement "The battle is the Lord's." Imagine how our attitude toward life's challenges would change if we believe those words. We need fear the contest no longer. In fact, we can now approach challenges with abandon, we can laugh in the face of the intimidator, because we know the battle is the Lord's.

Conclusion
When you read this story, one question comes to mind. What did David have that the soldiers of Israel didn't? Why was he able to destroy an enemy that older, more experienced warriors couldn't face?

The answer is not that David was brave and the soldiers of Israel were cowards. It has nothing to do with being a winner or loser. David could face Goliath because he had faith in God's goodness. Since God is good, the crisis cannot last, the critics can't be right, and the contest cannot be lost. Since God is good, the victory is ours.

You may be facing a Goliath in your own life. Remember David's response to the crisis: God is bigger than my problems. Remember David's response to the critics: He ignored them. Remember David's response to the contest: The battle is the Lord's. David faced Goliath because he believed in God's goodness. Believing in God's goodness will give you the strength to face your Goliath, too.


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