Refuse to be Intimidated

Greetings Friends;

OK, most are aware that I came from Alabama where one is either a Roll Tide, War Eagle, or maybe a Tennessee or Florida fan, but one would almost never root for Notre Dame.  So, with that being said, there are some things that even a southern boy might learn from the Fighting Irish.  Here is a very interesting point I want to give you: "Winning by Intimidation". 

Some 80 years ago, as Notre Dame was preparing to play USC in college football, Fighting Irish coach Knute Rockne was aware that is opponent had a far better team, so he devised a plan to intimidate the Trojan players.  Rockne scoured the city of South Bend and hand-picked 100 of the largest men he could find - each at least six - foot - five and three hundred pounds.   He put them in Fighting Irish uniforms and at game time marched them onto the field ahead of the real team. (Obviously, this was before the days of limited rosters and eligibility restrictions.)  As USC watched these giants line up on the sidelines, they forgot about their talent and their undefeated record, and they began mentally preparing themselves for a beating.  Though none of the specially recruited men played during the game, their presence on the sidelines was enough to knock Southern Cal's concentration off balance. Knute Rockne's trick had worked; he had intimidated the Trojan players into giving up before the game even started. As a result, Notre Dame won. 

Now our opponent tries a similar trick.  He intimidates us by appearing larger than life - but we must remember that he, too, has been sidelined.  John said, "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4) Don't let your problems intimidate you.  No matter how big the enemy may appear to be, remember that you have God's power on your side and he is greater. 

Greater simply means more.  The One who is more than enough is in the inside of you.  Because of this we have to overcome.  To hear many Christ followers talk, you would think the one who is less is on the inside of them.  NO, the One who is more, the greater One lives within me.  It is because of the greater One that lives within me that I am victorious.  It is because of the greater One that dwells within me that causes me to triumph in the circumstances of life. 

The fear factor is every where you look; whether the TV news, the newspapers, magazines, shopping malls, barber shops, job sites, even at the church house, and at the church prayer meetings.  The fear factor is the talking point of our conversations.  Most Americans, including God's people, have been swallowed up by the Fear Factor.  The devil will always get you to see the situation as larger and greater than it really is.  He will make sure that you see the worst of any situation or trouble that comes your way. He will point you to the Size and the Source of the foe, or the problem you face.  He wants you and me to compare our limitations, our inadequacies, and our size to the Size of the Person, the Foe, or Situation we face.  Satan wants us to see giants or walls of the impossible.  He is our greatest intimidator, and really, that is all he can do, is intimidate us by his roaring, while he is on God's chain of limitation (1 Peter 5:8... As a roaring lion).  Fear blinds, binds, burdens, beats up, boxes up, brands and belittles Christians, because they are weak, ignorant of the truth, and of little faith or no faith. 

Goliaths still roam our world.  They're just as big and just as scary as David's giant.  There are many types of giants - cancer, divorce, debt, financial crisis, loss of a job, death of loved ones, family  issues, loneliness, betrayal, depression, addiction; the list goes on.  Sometimes we retreat, duck, and worry.  I've heard lots of people say they come from a long-line of worriers.  We can sometimes just wallow in nervousness and fear.  We think that anxiety and worry are just how we're made up- that that's what we're supposed to do.  Yet sometimes we must choose to fight a Goliath like David did.  We take on a big problem or a big injustice.  Sometimes giants are big challenges that came to us and sometimes we choose them and sometimes we don't.  When was the last time you ran toward your Goliath?  Try a different attack. Rush your giant with a God-saturated soul.  Amplify God and minimize Goliath.  Refuse to be intimidated! 

For His Service, 

Pastor Phil & Rhonda Willingham