12-Step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous have helped countless people around the world to win the battle over addiction. The 12 Step program, which is really a lived spirituality, helps people to see their Goliath, to name their Goliath, and, with God’s help, to overcome their Goliath. I call it a Goliath because most people in the grip of addiction feel that the giant is just too big, that they can’t defeat it. And the truth is that they can’t defeat it, not with their own will power. But more on that point in a moment.
You need not have a serious addiction to benefit from the 12-Step program. We all have Goliaths in our lives: things that keep us down, that we feel are too big to be defeated. So what does this biblical story (1 Samuel 17) teach us about defeating the Goliath in our lives?
The young and fearless David is determined to fight the experienced Philistine warrior, Goliath. Saul admonishes David that he’s too young to fight Goliath; but David is confident that the Lord will give him the strength for victory. David says to Goliath: “You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts…For the battle is the Lord’s, and he shall deliver you into our hands.”
We know the end of the story. David strikes Goliath in the head with a stone from his sling. Goliath drops, and then David cuts off his head.
The first step in the 12-Step program is: “We admitted we were powerless over our addiction and that our lives had become unmanageable.” The second step: “We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” Isn’t that what David did? He never claimed he was going to take out Goliath by his own power. David made it clear that the Lord was going to be the one to win the victory. David wasn’t relying on willpower; he was relying on the Lord.
Sometimes we try to fight our Goliath with will power. That doesn’t work. It’s humbling, but we must admit we are powerless over it, whatever “it” is. We must believe what David believed: “The battle is the Lord’s.” This is why the third step in the 12-Step program is so important: “We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”
So, what is your Goliath? Is it a particular sin or habit? Is it an addiction? Is it a memory? Is it a thought pattern? Is it a situation or problem in your life?
It’s important to name your Goliath. Honesty is really important. Find someone you can confide in and name it. You see, if we live in fear of our Goliath we empower it; but if we name it, if we look it in the face, we begin to experience freedom.
Make a decision to let go and let the Lord fight your battles. I know, it seems counterintuitive: when we face a giant we feel we need to fight or flee; but in our lives with the Lord we do neither. We surrender to God and let him fight for us. He takes care of us (step 3). And if we let him, he will slay our Goliath.
It’s okay to give up. No. I don’t mean to give in to despair or to give in to your addiction or bad habit. I’m simply saying it’s okay to give up the battle and to tell the Lord that you can’t fight anymore, that you’re tired, that He has to do it for you. To overcome sin, addictions, bad habits, or any other situation in our lives, we must throw willpower out the window. The only decision we need to make with our will is to surrender to the Lord and let Him take over.
Don’t be afraid of your Goliath. Look at it. Name it. Admit that you can’t defeat it. And then surrender your life and will to the Lord. Let him take care of it for you. He wants to take it from you. Afterall, it’s His job.
P.S. Thanks for your awesome feedback and great comments on my last post! I am donating $115 to Catholic Relief Services in addition to what I’ve already given. I hope you will donate if you haven’t already.
P.P.S. I have made the crazy leap into Twitter world. You can follow me here.
Thanks so much, Father! This teaching is powerful and very helpful. I’ll share it with my students. Am sure that they too will be grateful to you.
Job well done! Would make for a great homily.
Craig,
I actually did preach on this the other day at the seminary. One of the guys told me I should put it on my blog, so I did!
Thanks for reading!
Peace!
There is so much freedom in handing our giants over to the Lord to handle. Not because it gets us off the hook, but because by doing so we show that we trust Him, and we are humble enough to know that we cannot do it ourselves. What consolation there is in knowing that we are in the hands of a loving Father. This was a beautiful post Fr M.
Michelle,
It IS all about trust…stepping out of the boat and walking on water. Not easy, but it’s what we’re invited to do. Thanks for reading!
Peace!
Dear Fr. Najim;
This could not have come at a more perfect time for me. I am currently “tied up” trying to overcome a goliath in my life. I feel it is a sign from our loving god that this is posted today.
I’m so happy to hear that this post was helpful to you. Persevere! The Lord is with you.
Peace!
Fr. Michael Najim http://www.catholicpriest.com
Sent from my iPhone
There is a song by a band called Flyleaf that really sums up the message here. One line in particular says, “And only surrender will help you now…”, and I find that resonates with me.
I struggle in my own beliefs with what exactly I am in control of. It’s ongoing. But I thank you for continuing to make that path a bit easier.
Kelly,
Surrender is a very difficult concept for us to grasp. The key is that we keep up the struggle.
Thanks for reading.
Peace!
Fr. Michael Najim
What is a faith based 12 step is http://www.CelebrateRecovery.com which John Baker took the 12 step and identifies the Higher power as Jesus Christ!
It is a GREAT program for for all – as we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
It is for people with Hurts,Habits,Hangups and who doesn’t have that?
Blessings!
Bill
P.S. I found your blog as I am looking how to put a Facebook badge on my WordPress site as well
Thanks for the resource…and thanks for reading!
Peace!
we are not david. we are the soldiers. Jesus defeated sin and death, which we could never defeat. Jesus was our representative like david represented the rest of the army of Israel.
Goliath represents death and sin and decay and evil.
You can’t be david. you’re not strong enough. no one can defeat sin and death but jesus. moral of the story: don’t try and be david. you will fail. that’s the whole point of the story: no one can defeat goliath. they pee in their pants when he yells. he’s too powerful. anyone who goes up against him dies. Just like every single person who has gone up against death has died. sin and death are too powerful
This story is about trusting in Jesus’ victory over sin and death. Just like the soldiers won the victory vicariously, so we win over sin and death: by just receiving the victory and living in light of it. The soldiers took the spoils thought they didn’t lift a finger. The church takes the spoils won by Jesus through preaching the gospel and claiming spoils of souls for our great king and representative Jesus Christ.