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David and Goliath is a bible story that has been used many, many times over to make a point about winning battles when God is on your side. It is the story of a young boy who steps up to battle to fight Goliath, a well trained warrior. They are representing their lands, but David is just a small shepherd who’s job was to tend to his father’s sheep. He wasn’t a fighter. David stood up to fight against Goliath. While David was scared, he was confident that God was on his side. God would protect him, and he did.
Most of us have heard the story about David and Goliath. If you have been to church even once or twice, you probably have a good idea of the story. I remember growing up and watching the Veggie Tales story of David and Goliath as well. If your childhood wasn’t filled with Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber, then you seriously missed out! If you don’t have your own bible to read the story, I strongly recommend checking out the “She Reads Truth” Bible.
The story of David and Goliath came up in the devotional that I have been doing. It really made me think about David and Goliath in a day to day aspect. Sometimes it seems like such a kid story because I was told the story probably a million times while growing up in bible studies and Sunday School. But David and Goliath isn’t just talking about a young boy defeating a giant. It is told as a reminder that overcoming obstacles isn’t impossible. It is about reminding you that you can do anything.
Here are 5 things that I learned about my Debt Free Journey from the story of David and Goliath.
1) Your opponent may seem huge.
“He was nine feet, nine inches tall and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed on hundred twenty-five pounds.” (1st Samuel 17:4)
Goliath was huge and he was well trained, but in the end, David still wins. Sometimes it really doesn’t matter what your “opponent” may be. It doesn’t matter what you are up against. If you believe you can and you have God on your side, you will win.
When I started my debt free journey, I was staring right at $34,000 in student loans. I seriously didn’t think that there was anyway that I could have paid it off. There were moments of panic when I thought about what I got myself into. I remember sitting in my recliner after I got my first student loan bill. My grace period was ending and I was looking at a total of $345 worth of student loan payments per month, plus an $80 car payment for a Jeep that I just financed. A year and a half later, I am at just over $11,500 and the end is in sight.
I know that many people have moments of fear, stress and panic when they total up their numbers for the first time. My $34,000 was just pennies compared to some people’s total numbers, but it seemed that so was my income. If you have never done a budget, check out my blog post to get your budget started.
2) Don’t ever let anyone doubt you for your age.
Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.” (1st Samuel 17:33)
Age seems to be a huge factor for some people. David was just a young boy in this story and Goliath was huge, but David didn’t let that stand in his way. He succeeded anyway.
I am young and I know that some of the people reading this are young. Or they are older and may be thinking, that you should have got your finances together sooner. There is seriously no time for thinking that way. The best time to do anything is RIGHT NOW. Stop letting your age, regardless of young or old, let you define your next step in life. Whether you think you are too young or it is too late, fix your finances.
I started this journey at 22 years old. Many people have cheered me for being so young and getting my finances together. Many people have told me that I am wasting my youth. I have heard many times that “you are only young once. Stop worrying about money. Travel and enjoy life.” On one of my blog posts, I wrote about some of the struggles of being on this journey as a single, millennial.
3) God trains you for the things he calls you
“Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, I went after it, truck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed lions and bears. . . . The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of the Philistine.” (1st Samuel 17:34-37)
“God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.”
God knew that David would be up against Goliath long before David did. He knew what he was doing when he sent David to the sheep pasture instead of off at war with his brothers.
God knew that you would start this journey. He put the right people and the right messages in front of you at the right timing. God knows that he is doing.
When I started my debt free journey, it seemed like it was a long time calling from God. I started tithing after about a year into my debt free journey. I wrote about the faith that it took to start giving to God when I had such big financial goals. He has not failed me. My bills are always paid and I have been putting the same, if not more money towards my debts every month since I started tithing. Read more about the reasons why I chose to tithe here.
4) You don’t need any fancy tools
“David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone.” 1st Samuel 17:50
Goliath had swords, javelins, armor, and years worth of training. David had a sling and a stone.
You don’t need the latest budgeting apps or all of these cool gadgets for this journey. You just need to start and to believe. I have changed my budgeting system many times throughout the journey. I have gotten different jobs and gone back to my original job. Life has changed tremendously through this journey. The one thing that hasn’t changed is my willingness to throw any extra money towards my debt.
I didn’t know a lot about my money, but I have always been pretty frugal when it comes to savings. Along this journey, I have learned things that people stare at me weird for talking about, but I have also learned things that I love sharing. Simple things to me like cash envelopes, sinking funds, and tricks for saving money on groceries can change someone else’s whole world when it comes to finances. But you don’t need all of those things. You simply need to spend less or earn more.
5) Not everyone will be happy for your success
“So Saul watched David jealously from that day forward.” (1st Samuel 18:9)
After David had defeated Goliath, everyone had cheered for him. David goes on to be very popular, but Saul is not happy about it. David actually becomes more popular than Saul. In the next chapter of 1st Samuel, Saul attempts to kill David.
While I don’t think anyone is going to attempt to kill you for being on your debt free journey or having financial success, know that not everyone is going to be as excited about you winning with money as you are. There are the naysayers who will always tell you that you can’t do it or that you will always have debt no matter what. Then, there are the jealous people. They are actually jealous of your discipline or motivation. These are the people who say “well I could do it too, if XYZ was different about my life.” They aren’t actually interested in doing it, but they want to make sure that you don’t feel like you are better than they are. In some cases, it might even be your close friends or family.
Along this journey, I have had many naysayers and many negative people who have told me that I can’t do it. For every negative person, I have found two or three people who are willing to cheer me on and tell me they are excited for me. The people who have been my cheerleaders are the people that are closest to me as I am getting closer and closer to the end. I have used this journey to weed out negative people and to build closer relationships with those who support me.
The moral of the whole David and Goliath story is that even if you feel like you aren’t equipped for this journey, God will be by your side. Your mountain of debt isn’t always as big as it seems. And not everyone will be a cheerleader, but the ones who are your cheerleaders matter the most.
What is God telling you on your Debt Free Journey?
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So true!! My debt is like a Goliath right now. It felt so unbeatable that I quit many times. Thanks for reminding me of this.
You can do it! Sometimes you just need to change up the things that you are doing! I wish you the best of luck!