When It Seems Hopeless… — Carol McLeod Ministries
Insurmountable mountains.
Unwinnable battles.
Unbeatable odds.
What do you do when life is stacked up against you?
What do you do when there seems to be no way out of the wilderness … no favorable outcome in the making … no hope of survival?
What do you do?
I think you do what David did … you declare the victorious power of God!
You walk toward your giant with no fear but with the grandest faith in the greatest of Gods!
Are you facing a giant today?
Have you more than met your match in the circumstances of life which have piled up around you and become a mountain of impossibility?
If so … you might want to read on.
David was just a little shepherd boy who often wrote songs in the middle of the night.
He was the youngest of a whole bunch of brothers and often may have felt overlooked or underappreciated.
Perhaps it was hard for him to figure out his identity in the family of Jesse. I wonder …
David’s three older brothers had enlisted in the army of Saul.
David not only had to tend the family flock in his brothers’ absence … but he also had to go back and forth between the family farm and the battlegrounds to take food to his brothers.
One day, as young David was approaching the place where the army was encamped, a giant of a man began to taunt the army of Saul.
This colossal enemy with his resounding voice and pounding footsteps fiercely intimidated the entire army of Israel.
Do you know what the army of God did at this defining moment?
They fled!
They ran away!
They ran scared in the opposite direction of Goliath … with dry mouths and with pounding hearts.
Their very lives were on the line. This was a man who could do great damage to anyone and anything in his pathway.
The gargantuan Goliath. The Hulk. A monster of a man. Was he a man or was he a beast?!
When David encountered the terror-stricken men of Israel’s finest fighting force, all David could do was talk about killing this giant!
“Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, ‘What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?!” – I Samuel 17:26
Who IS this Philistine?!
Let’s make this historic moment personal to your life …
What IS your battle?!
Why IS that mountain in your way?!
Following David’s incredulous questioning, David’s brothers became annoyed with him.
They were angry at this little piece of a boy and considered him to be an annoying brat.
“Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, ‘Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.’” – I Samuel 17:28
Let’s make this story personal once again …
What have you been accused of?
Have people mocked you for your faith … for your hope … for your joy?!
Is it difficult to find people who stand with you in the challenges of life?
Although he was young and inexperienced with giants, David had prepared for this epic moment.
He was no stranger to fighting that which was fierce and able to kill with one vicious roar … with one tiny bite … with one sharp claw.
“But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.’” – I Samuel 17:34-36
Nothing scared this toothpick of a boy!
He was already an expert in tearing apart ravenous lions and in mutilating marauding bears.
Why should a hulking giant who did not have the Lord on his side threaten David?
Why indeed?!
What have you done to prepare for the giants in life?
Have you run away in fear or have you fought to the finish?!
I have another question for you today …
What do you talk about when confronted with an insurmountable mountain … with an unwinnable battle … or by unbeatable odds?
What do you talk about?!
David couldn’t stop talking about God!
His focus wasn’t on the giant … His focus was on the God Who was infinitely superior to a little old giant!
David wasn’t trash-talking … He was triumphantly declaring the power and the authority of His Lord!
And David said, ‘The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the Lord be with you.’” – I Samuel 17:37
What you choose to talk about at the most frightening and traumatic moment of your life reveals what is in your heart.
Are you more aware of the presence and power of God or the alarm of your circumstances?
Oh! To be like little David!
I long to be a woman who thinks about … talks about … is focused on … the overwhelming and majestic greatness of the God Whom I serve.
Oh! To understand in every battle that I face that the battle is not mine to lose but it is the Lord’s to win!
“Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, a spear and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” – I Samuel 17:45 - 46
Stop talking about your mountain and start talking to your mountain!
Stop talking about the enormous size of your giant and start telling your giant exactly what he is going to look like when God is done with him!
Start declaring the glory and power of God over every battle that you face!
Let’s take the words “insurmountable” … “unwinnable” … and “unbeatable” out of our vocabulary!
Let’s replace them with the phrases “triumphant” … “victorious” … and “more than a conqueror”!
Let’s believe that God is Who He says He is and that He can do what He says He can do!
Let’s join David … that little toothpick of a boy … and face the giants who dare interrupt our lives!
Let’s defeat behemoth giants and move towering mountains!
Let’s win fierce battles with the extraordinary strength that comes from heaven and with the declaration of God’s presence and power.
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!
Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN. A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers. Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain. She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY. Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN. A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers. Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain. She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY. Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!
