Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other…” For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. (1 Samuel 17:10, 16)
That Philistine was the giant named Goliath. Let’s talk about giants.
Giants are more common than you might think. I ran into one recently. A few months ago, I was at the international terminal at DFW and ran into Dirk Nowitzki. At seven feet tall, he towered over me (by the way, Goliath was 9’9”!).
Then, there are the other giants in life you run into all the time: relationship problems, bills you can’t pay, kids that rebel, diagnoses from doctors. When Moses sent 12 spies into the Promised Land to check it out – two came back and said, “Guys it’s awesome, the land is flowing with milk and honey!” The ten others said, “There are giants in the land…we’re like grasshoppers compared to them!”
We WILL run into giants that make us feel like grasshoppers.
But like pink elephants in the room, you can’t just ignore them…they don’t go away. Forty days in a row Goliath flaunted his size, his skill, his weapons, his unbeaten streak. How many nights, I wonder, did King Saul lie in his tent and say to himself – maybe the giant won’t show up tomorrow. But he did, shouting, “I defy the ranks of Israel!”
Finally, isn’t it interesting that giants are scariest right when you wake up and when you lay down at night? Fear, pressure, worry, and anxiety often keep us up at night and wake us up in the morning shouting across the valley at us. We hear the booming voice, “You’re not a good enough (spouse, parent, Christian, etc.), you’ll never get out of the hole, you’re a grasshopper, too small and weak!” We often get busy doing stuff during the day and forget about those accusations…but then, when we shut down at night, we hear the taunts again. The sun comes up and there is Goliath!
Young David, the shepherd boy, has much to teach us about facing our fears AND our giants. We’ll talk about it this week. Join us Sunday for our new sermon series: “David: After God’s Heart.”
