David's anointing did not exempt him from battles instead it attracted battles to him, the anointing brought him into situations that did put to test the power of God in him, both spiritual and physical confrontations. These battles increased him as they set the stage for greater victories that were to come.

Growth is important to God, we ourselves desire growth but where the problem lies is how it ocurs, we are never in agreement with God over the growth process. In life we are promoted through test, examinations and appraisal of our past performances. It is no different in our walk with God, He uses the various battles we are confronted with to build our confidence and promote us. From thermal illnesses to calamities; from loss of job to lawsuit; from intimidation to threatened marriages. These battles are deep, intense and threatening to our very existence, yet He expects us to become better and stronger by them.

The christian life is a life of glory as much as it is a life full of battles. We are always the target of satan's attacks, hence, we can't afford to take the presence of God in our lives for granted. 1Cor.10:4 says that "the weapons of our warfare are not canal but mighty in GOD for pulling down strongholds." Whatever weapon we have for war, it is only made powerful and effective by God and not our righteousness therefore the God factor that assures our victory cannot be compromised. Saul lost this God factor when he lost his anointing and became susceptible to intimidation.

Taking a cue from David, he knew he was no where near victory over the battles in his life without the presence of God, no wonder he sang "cast me not away from your presence". He knew that loosing God's presence meant loosing power and authority and also loosing ones position in destiny. He has said, "I will go before you (talking of His presence) to make the crooked path straight. Let His presence go ahead of you in every of your plans and actions and consume every obstacle on your way.

Also, in developing courage to overcome intimidation, David knew the power of testimony. When he encountered Goliath, he testified of how God had delivered him from the lion and the bear and became strengthened. In Rev. 12:11, "they overcame by the word of their testimony." Encourage somebody today with your testimony of God's faithfulness. Talk about it, keep magnifying His past deeds in your life until your present problems become smaller in your eyes.

Trust was another factor in David's courageous acts. He had total trust in God. He didn't carry out a risk analysis on his plan when he went against Goliath to weigh the consequence of failing but totally rested his faith on God. Many times, our failures in life occur before they happen in the physical because already on our minds, we have conceived how everything will go wrong with our plans and strategy even before we make the move. David's confidence and trust had no room for doubts, he knew with God there was nothing like a contingency plan because He never fails. Trust is putting everything in God's hands and going to sleep on your problems. Can we trust the Father to this point without being anxious to know if He's actually working on our case or not?

Don't be intimidated if you're walking uprightly because these battles are training ground for greater victories to come.