1 Samuel 17:11,32 — When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid…32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
What do events like Pearl Harbor, Oklahoma bombing, 9/11, Columbine, Newtown, Auroa theater shooting, Jeffery Dahmer, and David Berkowitz all have in common? Actually, there are more things in common than you might think. They were all acts of terror committed by people, they were all reprehensible, they all took life, they were unexpected, they created fear, and some people in those events acted like and became victims of terror.
In the David and Goliath story we run across a great example of being a victim and another example of being an overcomer. Goliath has come out and challenged Saul and his army. The Bible tells us that they were dismayed and greatly afraid. What was going through their minds? I think we can accurately guess. “There is no way to beat this dude”, “Look at how big he is”, “If I fought that guy he would take my head off”, or any other litany of thoughts that were thoughts of defeat, not victory.
Saul, the King of Israel, and his army were victims of Goliath’s terror. They never had the courage to confront Goliath because they were defeated before they ever took the field. Being a victim is weakness in the face of danger. It is the inability to act, to take charge, and a failure of your heart.
