Goliath roared his challenge day after day. I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together. King Saul and his army quaked in their boots. Then a precocious young man entered the camp, grew exasperated with Goliath’s bloviation and retorted, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

Goliath defied God and David took his head. To this day defying God remains problematic.

It’s normal to wonder about the ways of God. Asking difficult questions, arguing with the Lord, and harboring doubts are all part of following him. The Scriptures are filled with valid questions by godly people. David, the hero of this story, poured out his frustrations to the Lord throughout his life. Here’s an example—How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1).

Doubt is ok, but active disobedience and passive rebellion goes beyond the pale. David wrote of another who defied God (Doeg the Edomite who slaughtered the priests of the Lord): God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living (Psalm 52:5).

Jesus spoke of similar matters. One day he took a child upon his knee and said, Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:5). Provoking Jesus by actively leading his followers astray earns a death sentence.

I know lots of people with valid questions about God. Many hold doubts that keep them from embracing the Lord. Their journey is their journey, and I trust and pray they move towards our Lord. I know a few, and read of others, who actively defy God. Even they are not too far gone.

Defying God doesn’t pay in the long run. But God doesn’t give up on his defiers. It’s never too late for the Goliaths in your life. Keep praying that they may meet a worthy opponent who will knock them in the head with a message from the Lord.

I Samuel 17

Photo by Kelly Sikkema