Just like the Israelites faced the Canaanites, we all have faced giants in our own lives. I remember in Kindergarten there was a girl who used to torment me. She was about 12 inches taller than me and she always took the dolly I was playing with during playtime. She was a bully. My mom’s ridiculous advice to me was to just pick another doll to play with and let her play with the one she wanted. Basically, my mom told me to turn the other cheek. Ignore the bully! Sound advice unless you are the one that has to confront the “giant” every day!
Well, one day, I had about enough, and so I grabbed her by the neck, wrestled her and got “the doll!” I felt like I was queen of the world for about 30 seconds. Then the teacher got a hold of me and I got punished for “hurting” that poor defenseless girl! My mom had a long talk with me when I got home, especially after the teacher called my mom to discuss “Carol’s bad behavior.” While I have been a “little angel” my whole life, my halo has always been a bit askew! Actually, after that little incident, the “giant” girl and I became friends! Go figure! God restores relationships in interesting ways sometimes.
In the sermon this week, I mentioned that in the lower story, the world we live in, the giants in our lives are always bigger than we are and they always seem to win; but in God’s story, the upper story, God is always bigger than the giants. Over the past week I had an opportunity to chat with several of you who are facing some pretty big giants in your lives. Some of you are dealing with health issues, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s; others of you mentioned that the giant in your life is financial; and one person mentioned to me that the giant in your life was unforgiveness toward someone. All of those are indeed big giants!
Learning to turn to God with our “giants” is sometimes hard for those of us who are Type-A personalities and like to be in control of things. However, when we finally go to our Father in prayer and give our burdens to Him, the giants we are facing do not go away necessarily overnight, but they can become a whole lot smaller. No matter the giants you are facing today, know that your Father in Heaven not only loves you, but He is ready and able to handle your burdens and “neutralize” the giants. We just need to be willing to trust Him, obey Him, and give up our burdens to Him.
A few years ago, there was a movie called “Facing the Giants.” It was a wonderful story with a great lesson about the giants we face. In the movie, Coach Taylor convinces his determined team of underdogs that there's nothing they can't accomplish with a little faith -- including the miracle of a winning season when all hope seems lost. Here’s a song from the movie by Josh Bates called “You Never Give Up on Me.” God never gives up on any of us, so why not let Him carry your “giants” today?
In His Grip,
Pastor Carol
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