Life's Giants

(Today's reading - 1 Samuel 17-18; Luke 15:1-10)

Most everyone knows the story of David and Goliath. David arrives at the camp of the Israelites and finds them afraid to go out and face the Philistine champion, Goliath. He is ginormous and they are afraid. Who wouldn't be...the man stood over nine feet tall? I have stood beside a man that is seven feet tall and felt like a munchkin. Nine feet tall... hard to even imagine. Most ceilings these days are eight feet tall, so imagine his head and shoulders sticking through the ceiling.

Now imagine this giant dressed in full military gear. He was intimidating to say the very least. Think of the fiercest man you have ever seen; maybe one of those wrestlers on television. Big, muscular, standing in your face screaming horrible things to you. "Come on out here and I will hand your head to your father" or "When I finish with you, the birds will eat the scraps that I leave". You get the idea. Nine feet of killing machine.

And this young man, hearing the taunts of the enemy stands up and says "Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” When others cowered behind their fear, David stood fearlessly beside his LORD. And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” We all know how the story goes, David faces the giant and slays him.

So, what's the message? Simplistically speaking, God is bigger than anything we will ever face. He is able to deliver us from the giants that we will face in this world. That is wonderful assurance.

I met with a woman this morning that is facing the giant of Alzheimer's. Her mother is 86 and she is the caregiver. I listened as she talked about the difficulties that she faces each day. Her tears flooded the tissue that she held as she told me her story. She had never had a father, so her mother was everything to her. Now she deals with the daily trials of a mother that doesn't know her name or remember how to do the things that she once taught her daughter. Giant? Absolutely! I gave her hugs and encouragement, but that only goes so far... she needs the LORD that stood beside David to stand beside her.

What are you facing? What are you going to face? How will you stand in the face of your Giant? Can you say, like David, "the LORD will deliver me from the hand of this Giant"? Or, will you face it alone? That was the problem with the Israelite soldiers, they stood alone. They allowed fear to sever the relationship they had with God. But David understood that with the LORD, courage was found. Nothing was too big if God was by his side. His faith in God enabled him to face Goliath. (read Psalm 27, written by David) He understood what we must come to understand... only through a relationship with the LORD can we find the courage to look into the eyes of our Giants and say, "bring it on".

David wasn't perfect (understatement), but David loved God and followed Him. Our perfection is not connected with God's faithfulness. We don't have to perform flawlessly, we just have to try our best. That is what David did and God blessed his life and used him to demonstrate His love. Trust God. Follow Him. He won't prevent Giants from entering your life, but He will provide the courage needed to face them. Whatever you are going through, God is bigger. He defeats Giants every day!

Love God, Love People.

Dale Isom