Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 1229 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Defeating Your Giants – Meditation Monday
Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.
Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1229 of our trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday. Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy.
For you, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. You may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life, meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word and praying. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and make sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body. As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope and prayer that you too will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind.
We all have giants that we face in life. Situations or circumstances that cause us to quake in our boots. We are like the 10 spies at the border of the Promise Land who urged the nation of Israel not to go any farther, but return to the slavery of Egypt. This was their report found in Numbers 13:33, “We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them, we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
In our meditation today, let us consider…
Defeating Your Giants
Goliaths still roam our world. Debt. Disaster. Dialysis. Danger. Deceit. Disease. Depression and many more. These super-sized challenges still swagger and strut, still rob us of our sleep, embezzle our peace, and suck the joy from our very souls. Although each of these giants has the potential to defeat you, they can’t dominate you. The secret is that you need to know how to deal with them. In order to face and defeat your giants you must instead face God first. The key is what are you focusing on? If you focus on giants—you will quake and stumble. If you focus on God, your giants will tumble before you in utter defeat.
David, long before he became a mighty warrior or King of Israel, knew who was beside him, ensuring his victory. You need to do what David did. You pick up five stones, and you make five decisions. Ever wonder why David took five stones into battle? Why not two or twenty? Rereading his story reveals five answers. Use your five fingers to remind you of the five stones you need to face down your Giants. Let your thumb remind you of…
- THE STONE OF THE PAST
Goliath jogged David’s memory of his recent days as a shepherd. While everyone else quivered, David remembered. God had given him the strength to wrestle a lion and strong-arm a bear. Wouldn’t he do the same with the giant? A good memory makes heroes.
Although most of the Bible wasn’t written yet, David knew the principles that would be written in 1 Chronicles 16:12, “Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given.”
These promises are part of a much larger catalog of God’s successes. Keep a list of all your victories from God. Has he not walked you through high waters? Proven to be faithful? Have you not known his provision? He has made roadkill out of your enemies. Write today’s worries in sand. Chisel yesterday’s victories in stone. Pick up the stone of the past. Then select…
- THE STONE OF PRAYER
Note the valley between your thumb and finger. To pass from one to the next, you must go through it. Let it remind you of David’s descent. Before going high, David went low; before ascending to fight, David descended to prepare. Don’t face your giant without first doing the same. Dedicate time to prayer. Paul, the apostle, wrote in Ephesians 6:18, “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
Prayer spawned David’s successes. His Brook Besor wisdom many years later grew out of this earlier moment with God, as was written in 1 Samuel 30:6, “But David found strength in the Lord his God.” When Saul’s soldiers tried to capture him, David turned toward God as he wrote in Psalms 59:16, “But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.”
Invite God’s help by picking up the stone of prayer. The next stone is the…
- THE STONE OF PRIORITY
Let your tallest finger remind you of your highest priority: God’s reputation. David jealously guarded it. No one was going to defame his Lord. David proclaimed prior to beginning the fight in 1 Samuel 17:46-47, “Today, the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
David saw Goliath as a chance to prove the greatness of God! Did David know he would exit the battle alive? No. But he was willing to give his life for the reputation of God.
What if you saw your giants in the same manner? Rather than begrudge the giant, welcome him. Your cancer is God’s chance to flex his healing muscles. Your sin is God’s opportunity to showcase grace. Your struggling marriage can billboard God’s power. See your struggle as God’s canvas. On it, he will paint his multicolored supremacy. Announce God’s name and then reach for…
- THE STONE OF PASSION
David ran, not away from, but toward his giant. On one side of the battlefield, Saul and his cowardly army gulped. On the other, Goliath and his skull-splitters scoffed. In the middle, the shepherd boy ran on his spindly legs. Who bets on David? Who put money on the kid from Bethlehem? Not the Philistines. Not the Hebrews. Not David’s siblings or David’s king. But God did.
And since God did and since David knew God did, the skinny runt became a blur of pumping knees and a swirling sling. He ran toward his giant.
Do the same!
Let your ring finger remind you to take up the stone of passion. With God beside you pouring his love into you, victory is sure.
One more stone and finger, remains…
- THE STONE OF PERSISTENCE
David didn’t think one rock would do. He knew God would bring victory, but David also did his part in being prepared. He knew Goliath had four behemoth relatives. For all David knew, they’d come running over the hill to defend their kin. David was ready to use every stone if that’s what it took.
Let us Imitate David. Never give up. One prayer might not be enough. One apology might not do it. One day or month or year of resolve might not suffice. You may get knocked down a time or two … but don’t quit. Keep loading the stones. Keep swinging the sling.
David took five stones. He made five decisions. Do likewise. Past. Prayer. Priority. Passion. And persistence. Next time Goliath wakes you up to attack you, reach for a stone.
Prepare and then let God bring the victory. Take time to meditate on this today.
That is a wrap for today’s meditation. Next week, we will continue our trek on Meditation Monday as we take time to reflect on what is most important in creating our living legacy. On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise each day. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
If you would like to listen to any of the past 1228 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player, so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.
Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all, your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.
As we take this trek together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow!