Have you ever been bullied? I remember when I was in junior high. On one hand I went around selling protection and on the other I was being bullied. I won’t mention his name right now, but he was intimidating. He was bigger in size than me in the muscle department, but it wasn’t his size that got me. It was his looks. He looked rough. Like he’s been through many fights and won them all. Every time I would see him I would run. On those times when I couldn’t get away, he would extract things from me like money, food, etc. It seemed amazing that it always happens in private never in the open. I don’t remember the day that I stood up to him and refused to give in to his demands, but I did. And he never bullied me again. In fact, Vernon just disappeared from my life altogether. Before he departed though, I found out that we had a lot of things in common. He really wasn’t a bad guy. He just didn’t know how to express himself when it comes to making friends. It’s really the same principle when you encounter something you fear. Takeaway the intimidation factor and half of the problem is solved. As a child of God when you take thoughts about something and make them bigger than your God, you’ve inverted the equation. Scripture says: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28 NIV). The Creator, God Almighty fights your battles for you unless you haven’t given the challenge you are facing to the Lord in prayer. Take a look at this scripture found in 2nd Chronicles 20:15. Being afraid or discouraged about your challenge only strengthens it to becoming greater than you can stand. But when you roll your cares upon the Lord, then sit back and watch what happens, you’ll find that it really wasn’t a problem anyway and that because you took your mind off of it you have more time to spend with the Lord. Maybe that’s the reason why we face challenges anyway to give more attention to the Lord. Take a stand against all those things (and people) who are bullying you and you will find that they become nothing compared to the power of God available to help you in every area of your life. All you have to do is ask.
Take the lesson from David, whom God speaks of as “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22). Goliath was the bully of the day. Because of his size, he intimidated the entire Israelite Army. For forty days Goliath would come forward every morning and evening and shout at the Israelite Army about how great he is (Sounds like what our problems do to us) until David came along and ran toward the Bully in the name of the Lord Almighty. Read the story in 1st Samuel 17 and use it to defeat every one of the challenges you face in your own life.
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