It’s not the size of the dog in the fight,
it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
MARK TWAIN
Have you ever heard it said of people that they don’t know their own strength? Well, my little puppy Marley doesn’t know his own size. He was less than three pounds when he stood his ground with a full-grown pit bull and showed no signs of shrinking back.
Okay, so the pit bull was a pussycat…but how was Marley to know that? He had never met Sasha before. She was one of four dogs that belonged to his then-trainer, Sue. When Sue took Marley to her place for some extra homeschooling, she plopped him down with her brood and Marley never flinched.
Nor was Marley afraid to flex his pint-sized muscles with his new pit bull pal. When Sasha woke him up from a nap, he fussed at his oversized playmate. He started growling and biting at her mouth…and she took it!
That was all before Marley came to live with me. I don’t have pit bulls—but I have a very large cat. Bo weighs three or four times what Marley did when he first arrived. Bo is also the bully of the household. If he wants me to himself, he’ll whap any other four-foot aside to achieve his objective. Bo slapped Marley in this way. But tiny Marley also put the fear of dog into Bo. Not always, but sometimes, I would see my giant cat flee when Marley barked or ran at him. They like each other now, but I think my pint-sized puppy knocked Bo at least partway off his bully pulpit.
Marley is half papillon, a quarter toy Sheltie, and a quarter Pomeranian. Papillons have been dubbed big dogs in small dog bodies. Whatever the case, Marley’s heart and courage are definitely huge for his size. I do believe he had some fear of my other four-foots, including Bo, when he first got here, but he didn’t shrink back. He went full tilt to mark out his place in the family.
Marley’s huge heart in a tiny body makes me think of a certain famous shepherd boy named David who faced off against a giant named Goliath. But there’s a difference. David wasn’t fighting to assert himself. He was fighting to uphold the name and honor of God. Even though humanly he was outmatched, he trusted God for the victory—and felled the giant with a slingshot and a stone.
Like so many Old Testament stories, David’s battle with Goliath illustrates a deeper spiritual truth. God’s children constantly battle spiritual Goliaths. They often pounce during tough times in life. And perhaps no life experience is more wrenching than the premature loss of a child—which is what my dear friend Lilly faced when her grandson was stricken with cancer.
Little Diego was only two when an extremely stubborn and aggressive form of cancer first reared its ugly head in his arm. His doctors tried chemo to save the limb. When that failed, they amputated his arm below the elbow to stop the cancer’s spread. No go! The cancer attacked his brain and lungs. A huge community of believers fought for this child’s life in prayer, and Diego valiantly soldiered on, playing pirate to symbolize his fight. But as his fifth birthday approached, things were looking grim. Grandma Lilly’s heart was breaking.
A Goliath far worse than the ancient Philistine giant or even the cancer was stalking Lilly. This Goliath was the enemy of our souls. Satan wanted to use Diego’s illness to attack Lilly’s faith. But despite her agony, Lilly kept crying out to God—and He gave her the slingshot and stones she needed.
You might say that Lilly’s slingshot was God’s Spirit, God’s Word, and the prayers of her friends. And yes, these were also stones to fling at Satan. But God chose some other special stones just for her. The first came in the form of a vision or dream. Lilly sensed God speaking to her and saying, “Give Me the child.” She didn’t want to. She struggled against it. But ultimately, she released her beloved Diego to the Lord. Then, in the vision, she saw her precious grandson running in a field. He had a full head of hair and both his arms—and he was laughing. Just weeks later, on Christmas Eve, five-year-old Diego went to be with Jesus.
The second special stone God gave Lilly to fight her Goliath didn’t come till many months later. In the interim, Lilly battled depression. She struggled to believe God was good. Emotionally, she was riding a seemingly endless roller coaster of hurt and pain. But she refused to yield to Satan and jump off into unbelief. She clung to God instead.
Perhaps the toughest day of the year was Christmas Eve. Lilly wondered whether this treasured holiday would forever be darkened by the memory of Diego’s death. Then, on the second anniversary of his passing, God gave Lilly a marvelous gift. Lilly’s youngest daughter, Diego’s aunt, phoned with the news that she was pregnant with her first child. She had purposely waited until Christmas Eve to share the news so her mom’s painful memories would always be tempered by the joyous announcement of new life.
Marley has huge courage and spunk, and it serves him well on a doggie level. But some foes, like Lilly’s, can’t be defeated this way. Paul the apostle was thinking of just such Goliaths when he wrote, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:10-12).
When David fought Goliath of old, he did it without physical armor. King Saul had offered his, but it didn’t fit. God’s spiritual armor, however, is one-size-fits-all. Lilly is wearing it and winning her battle. How about you?
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand (Ephesians 6:13).
Have you ever had to face a physical, emotional, or spiritual Goliath? How did you feel? What did you do? Who or what did you depend on? Do you put on God’s armor on a daily basis? What difference has it made?