"Who dares face me? Who is strong enough to kill me?" Goliath shouted while the Israelites, God's supposed people, cowered in fear. Overcome with a debilitating case of tunnel vision, they had forgotten to look up and were instead focused on the problem at hand.
It took a young teenage boy to come along with his sling and stone to set things right. Even then, Saul wanted to give David his own armor, but it wouldn't fit properly. How can you spin a sling when your arm is weighed down with bracers?
Goliath met David that day with sword, spear and shield. David met him with a sling and the Almighty God. I'll let you figure out who came out on top.
There are some gargantuan Goliaths in our world. Issues that seem insurmountable like our own personal Everest. The slopes slick with fresh snowfall, the cliffs sheer with ice. Issues that taunt us with their intricacies and flaunt their devastation. They practically preen as they dare us to come against them.
Do we cower in fear? Allowing by our complacency the atrocities to continue? Do we stare slack jawed at the monster that threatens our homes and families day and night, paralyzed by overwhelming power. Or do we stop to remove ourselves from the equation and remember that we serve the Lord of the Heavenly armies, the Alpha and Omega who goes before us.
He leads us into battle, slaying foes and bringing glory to his own name. He guides our feet through the deepest snow and gives us sure footing on the loosest shale. With his angels surrounding us, no principality or force can stand against us. He knows no defeat, has not met a foe that can resist his immeasurable power.
But we put him in a box.
Today we had the privilege to visit the Sundarban Islands, just outside of Kolkata. This is a remote place that is surprisingly accessible, where the people are simple and trusting and where great evils are committed. It's close proximity to Kolkata and the unique makeup of a lack of education and poverty make it ripe for sex trafficking.
It is a place, like so many other places, that needs Jesus.
JKPS is aware that we need not only to take care of girls after they have been trafficked, but that we need to prevent the root of the issue as well. Through church planting, community development, education and preventative teaching we can stop the flow of girls from these villages.
Make no mistake about it, sex trafficking is a powerful Goliath. It does not hide in the shadows, but flaunts it's devastation in the streets openly. Yet we do not serve a timid God, but rather a fierce warrior who enters willingly into battle for those He loves.
The size of the problem should not intimidate us. Rather, the broken lives of young women should drive us towards that stream to pick five smooth stones and let Goliath know we're coming for him. There will be no safe place on this planet, no shadow where he can hide. We will hunt him to the last breath until he is eradicated from our earth.
It takes time. It takes money. It takes communities investing over the long term.
Yet step by step we can be like David standing defiantly before Goliath, refusing to give an inch. You may come at us by questioning our God-given worth, exploiting the weak, and establishing your strong G holds, but we come in the name of God Almighty, commander of heavens armies and declare that your reign will end. We will proclaim freedom for the slaves, healing for the broken and justice over the evil.
One day at a time we will push back the darkness and conquer Goliath.
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