Giants

In our lives, we face trials. Some are easy and over quickly; others are more difficult and require dedication, hard work, and perseverance to get through. And others still are impossible.

The Bible talks of a giant so terrifying, not a single man in all of Israel would face him. Goliath was a battle-hardened veteran whose spear tip alone weighed fifteen pounds, and whose armor weighed as much as a full-grown man. As the fighting force of an entire nation cowered before him, a ruddy-faced shepherd boy named David stood up to fight. Goliath was shielded by several hundred pounds of armor, but David was shielded by God.

David was a man after God’s own heart. Didn’t see a giant. He didn’t see a man of war who could crush him with a whim. David only saw an obstacle standing in the way of God – one that needed to be cut down. And so, looking to God for help, that’s what he did.

His words to the giant are timeless. “You come to me with sword and with spear and with javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

What Goliath represents is the impossible hurdles in our lives – trials that are simply too big, too powerful for us to handle. The story of the boy that struck him down with a sling and a stone is a reminder that even the impossible is possible with God.

Sure, some trials seem overwhelming, exhausting. They stare us down and threaten to crush us. But it’s in the shadow of these impossible trials that we learn two of life’s most important lessons – who we are, and what God can do for us.