Giant Problems

You can imagine the challenging scene: The Philistine giant Goliath taunts the armies of Israel every single day. As he strides across the battlefield, his enormous stature and boisterous threats leave the soldiers paralyzed in fear. Then the young shepherd boy David arrives, and the contrast is striking. If David had measured his own strength against Goliath’s, he would have bolted from the battlefield. But that’s not what David did. Instead, he measured Goliath against the strength of God.

At times, your problems can feel just as overwhelming. They loom before you like giants, threatening to crush you under their weight. When you look at the enormity of your struggles, it can seem impossible to overcome. If you measure them against your own abilities, defeat seems inevitable.

But what if you changed the way you think? What if, instead of sizing up your problems against your own limited strength, you measured them against the power of God? The God who created the universe, who is all-powerful and all-knowing, and who has infinite resources at His disposal. Suddenly, those once-giant problems begin to shrink.

This truth is not just for David. It’s for you too. Your God is greater than any challenge or calamity you’ll ever face. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

The challenge is learning not to let your problems define you. You don’t have to face them alone. When you bring God into your fight by trusting Him, He promises to be with you and to help you overcome. As the Bible says, “Do not fear them, for the Lord your God, He shall fight for you” (Deuteronomy 3:22, Modern English Version). It’s not by your own strength that you overcome, but by relying on His.

Stan’s turning point

I’ll never forget visiting Stan after he suffered a stroke. He was just 48 years old—too young for something like that. The man who had always been strong and full of life now struggled just to speak and move his hand. I could see the frustration in his eyes when he whispered, “I don’t even feel like myself anymore.”

Over the next few months, I watched Stan face a giant that wasn’t just physical—it was the fear that his life would never be the same. He worked hard in therapy, pushing himself every day, but progress was slow. Fear loomed large, taunting him like Goliath: “You’ll never recover. You’ll never be useful again.”

Then one day, a turning point came. Stan told me: “I’ve been fighting this all wrong. I’ve been focusing on how small I am instead of how mighty God is.” Isaiah 41:10 became his anchor: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you.”

From that moment, something changed. The fear didn’t vanish overnight, but peace began to take its place. Each day, he prayed for God’s strength instead of relying on his own.

Slowly, his strength improved, and his faith became stronger than ever. Months later, Stan told me, “That stroke didn’t defeat me—it showed me how powerful God really is.”

Measuring against God

He was right. When you measure your giants against your own strength, they’ll always seem impossible. But when you measure them against the strength of God, they shrink to their true size. The battle was never Stan’s to win—it was God’s all along.

So, when you face giants—whether in the form of physical suffering, emotional trauma or life-altering challenges—you can find the strength to overcome, not by relying on your own power, but by trusting in God’s ultimate control. As Joshua 1:9 encourages: “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

By shifting your focus from your own weakness to God’s power, your problems lose their grip on you. The more you center your attention on Him, the less your problems will dominate. As Ephesians 6:10 says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” When you trust in God and allow Him to lead you, you’ll grow spiritually stronger and He will receive all the glory.

And when you overcome your giants, you’ll be able to declare, just as David did, “The Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:47).

No giant is too big for God. No challenge is too overwhelming when you face it with the strength of the Almighty on your side. Just as David defeated Goliath with a sling and a stone, you too have the power to overcome whatever stands in your way—not by your own strength, but by trusting in the One who has already won the battle for you.

When you trust in God’s power, His victory becomes your victory. Stand firm in that truth, step onto your battlefield, and face your giants with the same confidence David had—knowing that, with God, the battle is already won!