Over the past few months, I have been overwhelmed with many things. My dad recently passed away and I have many things I am responsible for taking care of on his behalf. Every day it seems like I am adding something else to the plate. I said God I need help with this. I am feeling very overwhelmed God. I need help with narrowing things down. I need help with prioritizing and then just basically motivating myself to do it. Because let’s face it, God, there are times I want to say that’s it. I am not doing anything else. I’m tired. I’m over it. I’m done. But you can’t do that, you must find a way to keep it moving. And that is why I called on God, my Heavenly Father. I needed His help. I needed His guidance. But what I received as a response was not what I was expecting. He responded with “Don’t think…just do”. I was like what? That does not even sound like a complete sentence. What do you mean by “just do”? He said, “Don’t waste time thinking about it, just go ahead and do it. Thinking about it overwhelms you. It begins to stress you. You begin to talk yourself out of it”. I was like, huh that does make sense. When I start thinking of my to-do list, I start stressing because then I think about how much time I have in a day. I feel like I cannot possibly get all of this done. I talk myself out of completing the task at hand. I have a question for you. How many of you talk yourself out of something God has told you to do?
When I ponder the statement “Don’t think…just do”, I align it with the purpose and calling God has on my life. I began to think about how many times I talked myself out of a blessing because I started trying to figure out how I was going to do it. I was overthinking it. What I needed to realize was that God did not call me to do something He did not fully plan on giving me the directions on what to do. I was spending time trying to come up with the instructions and God already had the plan. God can tell us to go right but instead of listening we begin thinking and coming up with reasons why we should not go right. I think the left will be better. I’ve done that. I could hear the Holy Spirit telling me to go in one direction home. I begin thinking to myself, “No if I go that way there is going to be a lot of school traffic, etc. I do not listen and decide to go the way I want to go, and I end up in a lot of stop-and-go traffic. It took much longer because I did not want to listen. I decided to think instead of “just do”.
When I think deeper about that statement “Don’t think…just do”. It makes me think of a prominent person in the Bible. I think of how he handled a situation that lay before him. I think of how he did not take time to think he responded without hesitation. The person I am talking about is David. The story of David and Goliath. This story can be found in 1 Samuel chapter 17. In verse 12 we learn that David was the son of Jesse, an Ephrathite and he had eight sons. Verses 14 and 15 tell us that he was the youngest of Jesse’s sons and he was responsible for feeding the sheep. And David’s older brothers were fighting in the Army.
David stayed home. He was a young boy. We picture him as being just a scrawny young boy. We learn in verses 17 and 18 that his father told him to take some food to his brothers and the captain of the Army and to also find out how his brothers are doing. In verses 20-24, David leaves early the next morning and takes the food to the camp where the army is located. He sees his brothers and begins to talk with them. But while doing so Goliath appears and they all run because they are afraid of Goliath.
Now David, being like any other young boy his age, begins asking questions. He’s curious. In verse 26 he asks the question “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that should defy the armies of the living God?” His eldest brother Eliab becomes angry with David for asking the question. And he says to him, “Do you not have sheep to tend to?” David then says, “What have I done now, is there not a cause?” Now here was this scrawny boy being brave and asking questions about a giant that the Soldiers were in fear of. Soldiers who are taught and trained to fight any enemy. But when Goliath appears they run and hide. But David is curious, he wants to know more. He is not running.
The Soldiers tell Saul about what David had said, and Saul asks to see him. David tells Saul that he will fight the Philistine. Saul says but you’re a young boy. Meaning you are too little. You are not strong or big enough to fight this giant. In verse 37 David says to Saul “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear he will deliver me out of the hands of this Philistine.” David was not afraid. He wasn’t afraid of Goliath. This young boy wasn’t afraid. He knew who He had inside of Him. David didn’t stop to think, he reacted. He didn’t give himself time to talk himself out of it. David was in the mindset of “Just do”.
How many of you are facing a Goliath right now and you are trying to figure out how to fight him?
What is your Goliath? Is it a broken marriage? Is it a financial struggle? Is it havoc on your job? Is it suicidal thoughts? Is it health issues? Is it grief? Is it sadness? Is it loneliness? Is it doubt? Is it abuse? Is it a situation in which your children have gone astray? Is it spiritual warfare? What is your Goliath today? What are you trying to fight all by yourself? Stop trying to handle things on your own. Stop fretting. Stop crying? Stop stressing? Don’t give up. You must be like David and know who you have inside of you. You are heirs to the throne. Your brother’s name is Jesus. Your father’s name is God. You are in a place where you want for nothing. Stand up to you Goliath. Stop thinking and just do. You have been equipped to handle every situation in your life. When I heard God say to stop thinking and just do. I started saying it to myself repeatedly. I began prophesying over my life. Don’t think Lisa, just do like your father is telling you to. You are the head and not the tail. You are above and not beneath. Don’t think Lisa, just do. Your Father sits high on the throne. He wants to open the windows of heaven for you. Don’t think Lisa, just do. You are blessed coming in, and going out. Don’t think Lisa, just do. You are more than a conqueror. You got this. Don’t think Lisa, just do.
That is exactly what David did. He did not stop to think. He was in the mindset of “just do”. 1st Samuel 17:38-50 goes on to tell us that David’s weapon of choice to fight Goliath was not the armor that Saul gave to him to use. You see Saul gave him his armour. He placed his helmet of brass upon his head. He armed him with a coat of mail but David said I have not tested it yet so I cannot use it. He chose to use his staff, five smooth stones, and his slingshot. And even more importantly he chose to use something that he knew would work. He chose to stand on the Word of God. He chose to stand on the power he had inside of him. He knew who his protector was. He put his faith in the Almighty. A weapon that he knew would work. Some of you out there are listening to everyone else. You are using a weapon that is not equipped to help you. God has directed you and told you what to do and to simply do it. But instead of acting, you must call up your girlfriend and ask them their thoughts on it and whether you should do it. You call up your boys and get their advice. Or you use a weapon that has failed you repeatedly. You allow the thoughts in your head to guide you. You are not thinking like you have Christ inside of you. You are thinking with your head. And in doing so you are not walking by faith, you are walking by sight as it says Hebrews 11:1. Because you are using the head kind of faith you must see it first. Your mind needs to rationalize it first. David did not even think to rationalize. If he had listened to the thoughts in his head, he would not have made a move. His mind was probably saying, “You are just a little boy”. You cannot fight this giant. The army cannot even handle him, are you going to be able to handle him? You are just a sheep herded you could not possibly beat a man of that size. He will kill you. But David stood firm. He knew who he had inside of him. He knew to stand on the Word of God. He knew not to listen to his head and not operate from that mindset. He knew not to think or analyze the situation. He knew he had to just do what he knew he was called to do.
Beloved the enemy will throw sand in your face. It will try and alter your dreams. It will try and hold you back and keep you down. It will do everything it can to keep you from succeeding. You must stand firm and turn a deaf ear to the enemy. Do not let your situation be like the serpent tempting Eve. That is not you. Trust God. Stand firm. Do as David did. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Do not listen to those trying to tear you down. Do not even listen to your mind, listen to God. Let Him speak to you. Listen for his voice. Let Him guide you. Don’t sit on your dream. Don’t sit on what God has called you to be. Don’t stop climbing as high as you can go. Don’t stop. God has so much more for you. He is just waiting for you, so He can bless you with it. So, from this moment on, “Don’t think…just do”.
