David and Goliath times

King Istvan praying for the nation of Hungary before battle

   Have you heard about David and Goliath? Most have, but in case you haven't, David (to become King David) was a young boy, a shepherd, who had come at his father's request to see how his older brothers on the front lines were doing in a war with the Philistines.

   Upon his arrival, he viewed the giant, Goliath, taunting the Israeli troops that were being led by King Saul. David asked them, "Are you just going to stand by and let that army of the Philistines taunt the army of God's appointed?" David was MAD!

   To fast forward a bit, they pretty much said, "Hey, if you want to go fight this giant, go ahead!" So David gathered stones and walked towards Goliath (who was jeering him the whole time). David put one of the stones into his sling, gave it some whirls & let the stone fly.... right into the forehead of Goliath the giant, killing him instantly! The Philistines turned tail and ran, then the Israeli army ran after them to cut them down, after having been encouraged by the lack of Goliath in their midst.

    We all have David and Goliath times - especially when we are feeling really small against what seems like a daunting task or time of life - but we FORGET that David relied on God & the promises God gave the Israelites! God helped David overcome Goliath by what seems like impossible odds when other more seasoned veterans were terrified of Goliath's strength, size, and don't forget Goliath's bullying attitude.

   Are you going through David & Goliath times?  There are times for us that seem like that too - especially learning one of the three hardest languages at a time in life when others are looking forward to spending time with grandchildren, looking at retirement sooner than later, the myth that it is much more difficult to learn a foreign language when your are "old",  feeling like we aren't really accomplishing anything or making a difference in the lives of others, we are crazy to sell/give away what we had & move across the world to a place no one has heard of or cares about .... and the list can go on.
 
   Yes, there are times when it feels like Goliath (in this case, Hungarian) is winning.  But that is the EXACT TIME when we need to remind ourselves that we are like David!  We may be small in the big picture of things, but God has given us talents, taught us things - like He taught David how to use a sling and a rock - and then we had to keep practicing those things over & over & over until we could actually use those talents.

   God has helped us to use these seemingly meaningless talents in interacting with people, or just going through life here - but people here NOTICE these things! The Hungarian people for many years have been trained to watch and observe, even if they couldn't say anything to another person, they are tremendous watchers, very contemplative, and tend to be very negative thinkers. Yet, here are some crazy Americans in their midst BY CHOICE????? So they think, "What? WHY? Really? You WANT to live here, when the USA is the land of milk & honey? You want to learn this hard language? WHY? Why are you REALLY here?" Well, who needs a better introduction into why we are here? So, we answer them!

     Then, (sometimes, I can even hear a chuckle from God ) we let them know that MANY Americans sent us over here to speak to them, let them know that they are loved by God.... God, who set the heavens and the stars in place... God, who formed man out of dust.... God, who knew all about them before any of them were formed.... God, who sent His son for them to die in their place, for their sins, so they could believe in Christ Jesus, who loved them before time began and loves them still.... because God keeps His promises, and He will win the ultimate war.

    Remember, when you face the giants - God is in control. God wins, even through the difficult circumstances. God wins when you are willing to be a fool for His glory, God wins. He creates beauty out of hearts of stone when they yield to Him. God wins!