Facing giants

Facing giants

“Give me a man. Let us fight it out together!” boomed the challenge across the valley from the huge 9-foot tall giant (1Samuel 17:10). The soldiers hid terrified in their tents. Only one person, a small shepherd boy named David, stepped forward to meet the giant, armed just with five stones collected from the river, his sling, and his faith in God. The five stones would have reminded him of the Torah, the five books of the Hebrew Bible. Yet he wouldn’t have time to use five stones. David knew only one divinely appointed stone would be needed to kill the giant. “David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and (the giant) crashed, facedown in the dirt.” (1 Samuel 17:49). We all have giants in our lives. Giants that loom large – Illness, Loss, Unemployment, Danger. And the greatest of all, our sin. It’s not the giants that matter but how we face them. Hiding from them, in our fear, simply makes them grow larger and louder. Like David, we must go to the water of life – God’s Word (John 4:13), receive the only stone that demolishes all giants -Jesus (Matthew 21:42-44), and step forward in faith. And like David, our giants will come crashing down. “He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me.” (2 Samuel 22:18).