When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. — 1 Samuel 17:11
I have shared before about the hesitancy I felt when God called me to start Another Well Ministries. But that was not the only time in my life that fear nearly overtook my faith. I remember when my wife first suggested adopting our son from China. I wanted to adopt. That desire was real and settled. But China was not what I had imagined. It was not what I had planned. And in that moment, standing at the edge of something God was clearly doing, fear stepped in and made the path forward feel far more uncertain than it actually was.
In both of those moments the giant of fear nearly won. Not by defeating me in battle. By keeping me from moving at all. That is exactly what happened to the army of Israel in the valley of Elah.
Saul had an army. These were not untrained civilians. They were soldiers with weapons and armor and experience in battle. They had fought before. They knew what it meant to stand in formation and advance against an enemy. And yet when Goliath stepped out of the Philistine camp and issued his challenge, every one of them stopped. Dismayed and greatly afraid.
For forty days Goliath came out morning and evening. The same challenge. The same giant. The same open valley between the two armies. And for forty days not one man in Israel moved toward him. The army that should have been advancing was standing perfectly still.
Giants do not always defeat us in battle. Often they defeat us before the battle ever begins.
The sight of something large and intimidating produces a very specific kind of fear, not just the fear of losing, but the fear of even trying. And that fear, left unchallenged and unnamed and unaddressed, becomes the most effective weapon the giant has. It does not need to fight. It simply needs to show up every day and stand there until the people who should be advancing have convinced themselves that advancing is impossible.
Forty days is not a small thing. Every morning the sun rose and the giant appeared and the army stood still. And every day they stood still the giant’s power over them grew, not because Goliath had gotten stronger but because their fear had. Inaction fed the very thing they were afraid of.
Staying still in the face of a giant is never neutral. It always costs something.
The ministry that almost did not start. The adoption that fear nearly prevented. The relationship that was never pursued. The step of faith that was never taken. Every day we do not move toward what God is calling us through, something is lost. Not in the valley but in us. The longer we stand still the more convincing the giant becomes and the smaller our faith feels by comparison.
I am grateful that in both of those moments someone helped me move. My wife’s faith pushed me forward when my own fear wanted to hold me back. And the God who called me into both of those things was patient enough to wait for the day I finally took the step.
The army of Israel was not defeated by Goliath’s spear. They were defeated by their own paralysis. What is the giant that has kept you standing still? What step has fear been preventing you from taking? What has it already cost you to remain where you are?
The valley is still open. The giant is still waiting. And the God who called you to move has not changed His mind. Every day you stand still, the giant gains ground. Not in the valley. In your mind. It is time to move.
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About Another Well Ministries
Another Well Ministries exists to help people slow down, listen deeply, and encounter God in the ordinary places of life. Through devotionals, reflections, and spiritual resources, we seek to create space for faith to be formed with honesty, grace, and hope.
To learn more about the heart of the ministry or explore additional resources, visit anotherwell.org.
