Many people fail at work and in life because they focus too much on problems rather than opportunities. Perhaps it is true in your life too.

When something goes wrong, we spend hours chewing on it and dissecting it.

I am not suggesting we should stick our heads in the sand. But I do think we should spend more of our time focusing on what we want to create, where we have been successful, and how we can build on our strengths.

The story of David and Goliath in the Old Testament provides an excellent example of someone who focused on the opportunities rather than the problem.

Thousands of sermons have been preached about this story. But as I was reading the story again recently in 1 Samuel 17, I was struck by how useful it is.

Before David arrived on the battlefield, everyone was focused on the problem—Goliath. No wonder. This champion of the Philistines was really TALL. It was difficult to ignore him.

Goliath had a solid bronze helmet, a bronze coat of mail that weighed  alot, and bronze shin guards. His size, coupled with his armour and a personal shield bearer, made him virtually invincible.

But in addition to this, Goliath possessed a frightening offensive weapon. He had a bronze javelin that was “the size of a weaver’s beam” (think, mini-telephone pole) with a 7 kilo iron spearhead.

On top of that, he is hyper-confident. He defied God, taunted the Israelites, and challenged them to a fight. The Israelites had endured his dramatic theatre for forty days.

In the midst of this, David arrives on the scene and sees Goliath for himself. Just as the Israelites begin to run away yet again, one of them mentioned to David that the king had offered a huge reward to anyone who could defeat Goliath. That caught David’s attention.

… it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel” (v. 25).

To summarize, the king had offered three rewards to the man who could defeat Goliath:

He would receive great riches.

He would get to marry the king’s daughter.

He would be granted a lifetime tax exemption.

David could hardly believe his ears. He asked another man standing nearby, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”.

Suddenly, the problem didn’t look so big. David began to shift his focus off Goliath and onto the opportunity.

Predictably, someone objects. Eliab, David’s oldest brother, was first in line:

He attacked David’s motive: “Why did you come down here?”

He attacked David’s identity: “And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?” He subtly reminds him he is a shepherd not a soldier.

He even attacked his character: “I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

But David ignored his brother and asked another Israelite about the opportunity: “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?”

Perhaps if it had been us, we would have spent more time focusing on the problem—analysing Goliath, digging deeper into the problem, and trying to understand the various options before us. Not David.

Even King Saul, who had posted the reward—and didn’t have any other viable options—tried to talk David out of challenging the giant. To add insult to injury, Goliath made fun of David, cursed him, and began running toward him. That must have been a frightening sight.

But David didn’t move. He declared His confidence the God who performs miracles. Rather than running away from the giant, the text says,

David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.”

This made me reflect on my own approach to life and the things I call “problems”. I wonder how much more successful I would be in tackling big problems if I would look past them and focus on the opportunities on the other side. How about you?

May God give you wisdom and guidance in dealing with your so called problems. Remember when God´s around there are no problems – only opportunities!