"Come To Me…To Peace and Stillness"
1 Samuel 17: 1a, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49; Mark 4: 35-41
June 25, 2006

What a lopsided story this David and Goliath! We all love cheering for the underdog--hoping the unexpected will prevail, especially when the unexpected is good. But that's not quite what this story is about (good guy vs bad guy) ...for David is not a underdog in his own eyes, or in the eyes of God. This is a story of the power of God to defeat the Goliaths of this world....with a little help from God's friends. The question for us is: Who are our "Goliaths"? The "Goliaths" we face are not always as easy to identify as David’s, but we all have them! Do you have a giant to kill, with God's help? Anger? Alcohol, Drugs, Cigarettes? Being judgmental? Inability to commit? Self-centeredness? Exhaustion? Excessive spending? The obsessive need to control? There are many Goliaths! Notice I did name health issues as a Goliath...the Goliaths I name are those we have the ability to confront directly, often created in part by our very selves! The Goliaths within…..

But this story if more than the defeat of a "Goliath", this is a story of David's finding his own power, believing in his own ability, believing in God's presence ....and facing his "Goliath" straight-on! This story is a metaphor for battling our fears about our Goliaths--fears that get blown out of proportion....making us feel like wimps. Just as when in a darkened room a shadow of some giant on a wall turns out to be just a grasshopper when you turn on the lights....so our fears turn out to be blown up out of proportion when we turn on our faith.

It's not easy to find the courage and faith to face our Goliaths. We often box ourselves in thinking, "Oh God, this is giant. Impossible. No point even trying." No sense volunteering for Peace Camp, weeding the garden, Sunday School. No sense resisting that cigarette. No sense saying no to that party tonight. No sense telling them how I really feel. No sense standing up to them this time. No sense reaching out to them. It's all too big for me to be able to do anything about! What difference can it make?

We often cage ourselves in with self-doubt, overwhelmed, consoled by the nay-sayers who surround us...whose voices seem louder than the encouragers', because we let them be....and we say to ourselves: I can't do it! And Goliath kills off something alive in us!

How did David do it?
Now what hit me was how Saul tried to put his armor on David and David says, "This isn’t me," and takes it off. What works for Saul doesn’t work for David. Different fears, different gifts…one size does not fit all! David wisely uses the gift God gave him…he remembers and trusts his experience, his God, his self. He had practiced with and exercised his gift many times before and was confident in his experience….like the 12 fishermen coulda’, woulda’, shoulda’ been confident in themselves.

Now….when we face fearful situations, like Saul and the disciples, do we remember our gifts and experience….or do we put on other ways of being that really don’t fit us all that well….or do we look to someone else to rescue us with their gifts! Do you appreciate the power of your own gifts?

Even as you struggle to figure out what it means to believe in God, do you believe in yourself? Maybe we are just plain old afraid….of ourselves (our power) as well as the situation. Why? What is the message we have absorbed from our culture about our own abilities and gifts that keeps us from living into them and believing in ourselves the way God believes in us?

One of the key elements in the phenomenon of fear is the issue of trust. David had no fear because he trusted his experience and practice in facing adversaries bigger than himself, and he trusted somehow God would turn the tables of power completely around in his encounter with Goliath. ….Maybe Jesus could sleep because he not only trusted God but also trusted the skills and experience of those who had spent their lives sailing and fishing on those same waters. He trusted them more than they trusted themselves.

Do you trust your experience and have you internalized its wisdom? If not, why not? Why not begin now!

I think God is inviting us to get a vision....get a life...a big life...a life bigger than just our own so our perspective changes as we face life's storms! The storms are all around us! Temptation. Controversy. Adversaries. You can drown in waves of contempt, or self-pity, or low energy, or judgment. You can. You know, we're digging our own graves when we focus on the storms, wanting to be safe instead of focusing on what can be, wanting to be saved. Carla put it this way this week: Instead of telling God how big all your storms are, tell your storms how big your God is!

It may seem like God is sleeping on the job. But God is with us! And the slingshot is in our hands. Even if we let go of our fear and gain confidence and faith in God's presence, even if we find "a vision", we still have to act! David still had to face Goliath; the disciples still had to bail water. We still have to say yes. We still have to speak up. We still have to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations. We still have to seek the help we need. We still have to face our accusers. But ultimately, if we act in good faith, we will be victorious for within God’s timing God's mission succeeds in amazing and unexpected ways as our vision for God and God's vision for us converge. This is peace. This is stillness in the midst of storms.

So....what do you do in the panic times of your life when you face stormy times and big obstacles...Goliaths? Can you believe God is working, even when you don't feel it? How may God be inviting you to a measure of peace when all around you is chaos?

God is asking you this morning: Will you "Come to Me"? Will you "come" denying daily realities the power to kill off your faith? Come, and kill off your self-doubt instead! Will you "come"....willing and able to face the fears one shot of a slingshot at a time, victorious in facing what really threatens you....because you have the vision that you can! and because you believe God is with you? Will you "Come"? How will you come…into peace and calm?