Killing Goliath

Before you kill your Goliath you have to kill a lion. Each of us will, at some point in life, have a large problem to overcome but often, before we can really tackle and defeat that problem we have other problems that must first be faced. If a person is inactive in the church because of a Word of Wisdom problem then struggling with that problem alone will not be successful. The first problem to attack is a matter of testimony.

The power of the Holy Ghost is essential in gaining a testimony and truly becoming converted. Being converted means changing your heart, your habits, your way of thinking. Keeping small commitments helps us to be able to keep larger and larger commitments. I think David learned to kill rabbits for food before he was called upon to kill lions or bears. I also think he learned to pray effectively and often. His confidence was not in himself but in the Lord. When we rely on the Spirit in every aspect of life, we can be strong enough to slay the giants we encounter.

When a person, through study and prayer, gains a testimony of the gospel and really comes to understand the atonement, a problem with something like the Word of Wisdom fades in magnitude. It does not become easy, but it does become possible.

David did not set out to defeat Goliath until he had been challenged and had learned to overcome other problems. He was able to kill a lion and a bear before the challenge of Goliath was possible.
"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 hand of this Philistine."

Note that David preferred to not wear the armour or carry the weapons he was given. He stayed with the things he was sure of. In other words, he stayed with the basic principles he had been taught to help him through problems.

What are the basic principles we have learned in our life and how do they help us with our Goliaths when we remember to use them?