“These four Philistines were descendants of the giants of Gath, but David and his warriors killed them.”
2 Samuel 21:22

Did you know that Goliath had brothers? I have one brother, six years my senior. We take on character traits from our parents and our siblings. I look like my mother and have the personality of my father. My father never knew a stranger. What about twins? I know a woman who I went to college with who has a twin sister. She is on my Facebook and the pictures of she and her twin sister together, even now, are identical. They are the same size, same hair...everything!

Even if you don’t have siblings, trouble comes in the form of brothers and sisters, and sometimes, twins! Troubles resemble each other even when they aren't related.

The following is adapted from “Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ,” by Francis Frangipane...

“Here’s the scene: You are in a battle against sickness, oppression or some similar struggle. You seek God, and in some way the grace of God touches your life. Your victory may have come through a word or prayer or some other encouragement, but you absolutely know the Lord has delivered you. Using the five smooth stones of divine grace, you defeated your Goliath.

But then, a few weeks or months or perhaps years later, all the old symptoms suddenly return with a vengeance. If you were struggling with an illness, it manifests worse than ever; if your battle was regarding a relationship or a particular sin, it seems as though all progress has been lost. You are back to square one.

Have you ever been there? These negative experiences can drain the faith from your heart. You lose the anticipation and power of faith, and a spiritual paralysis immobilizes your soul. You may still attend church, but your faith is unresponsive. For many, the result is one of faith-shaking disillusionment. Scripture says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Prov. 13:12).

Trouble always has a brother and usually more than one. The next brother may not be a twin and look identical, but the purpose is the same; they cause heartache, sickness, and trouble of all sorts. The doubting, questioning part of us somehow goes back to the previous problem, which we’ve already overcome, and we begin to mix the old problem with the new. They can appear so much alike that you begin to doubt that you won the previous battle at all. Goliath's brother may even smell the same. They may be related because history often repeats itself. We need to recognize that just because you killed Goliath doesn't mean his bad brothers won't try to harass you. The devil is a bully. When you kill one bully, another one is often waiting around the corner. But, the devil is arrogant and will forget that you killed his brother. Get your sling shot ready for the other brother! Your victory depends on what you are armed with!”

So here's a final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Eph. 6:10-12

Sometimes, a sling shot may be included with your armor, but the next time you may need a different weapon. When one battle is over the natural tendency is to sit down and rest. You can rest in knowing you will win the battle, but never take off your armor because Goliath has a brother. However, just because you killed your Goliath with a slingshot doesn’t mean it will work for his brother. This is a different battle.

Don’t treat the brother like Goliath. They may look similar, but I guarantee they think differently. Goliath went down with a smooth stone, but his brother may need a 2 x 4 right between the eyes!

God bless you!

Deb McClellan