Facing our Giants

^{Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC on November 2nd and 3rd, 2019}

^NIV 1 Samuel 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. ² Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. ³ The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. ⁴ A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. ⁵ He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; ⁶ on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. ⁷ His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. ⁸ Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. ⁹ If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us."

Are you facing giants in your life today? Many of us are. We face financial crisis, living from paycheck to paycheck, we face emotional giants, we face cultural and societal giants and we face fear, anxiety and concern every single day. God wants us to know that God is with us as we face those giants. So I pray that today you will find the strength, courage and armor to face the giants in your life.

One of the things that each of us must face are the obstacles, the adversities and the challenges of life. They are always there and we cannot sometimes seem to find ways to get beyond where we are to get to where we want to be. We may not think of those things as giants, but the Bible shares with us that our fears, our anxieties and the things that keep us from achieving what God wants for us are just that. I love the story of the spies that are sent into Canaan by Moses to see the land that God wants them to have. They come back all fearful and convinced that they cannot achieve what God intends for them and so they share the stories of the giants. By the way, a neat nuance about the exodus story. The spies enter the land of Canaan we believe around 11 days into the journey from Egypt. 11 days! So if it were not for their fear and anxiety that causes them to not be willing to follow God they are forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 long years. When was the last time you did not do something because of the fear and anxiety of failing and it caused you to prolong or even miss out on something incredible and wonderful?

God gives us instructions in the form of stories to help us along the way. David is the youngest of sons of Jesse. David has spent his life as the person responsible for tending the sheep. Now in those days, a shepherd had a difficult responsibility. His job put him in danger often, protecting his sheep from wolves and other wild animals. He had to learn who to nurture and care for them when they were wounded and nurse them back to health. He would teach them to come when he called their name and was constantly looking for the lost sheep that had wandered away from the flock. So David had grown up learning how to defend himself and his flock from danger. But David had a weapon more powerful than the stones in his sling. David had learned to rely on God and to trust that God was going to bring him through whatever storm the world threw at him. So it happens that David arrives on the scene bringing supplies from his father to his three brothers when he encounters the fear that Goliath is causing the forces of Israel. This story is given to us to show us how trust in God can lead us to victory in so many struggles.

The first thing we must do is have a willingness to do the work that needs to be done. In first Samuel 17: 34-35, David tells Saul, I have fought the bear and the lion and with God’s strength, I have saved my sheep from the slaughter and killed the bear and the lion. Is Goliath any different? David tells Saul, my trust is in God and if it be God’s will I will prevail no matter the size or strength of the enemy. When we are facing our fears and anxieties, we must be willing to show ready to trust God with the power to overcome. It may be the illness, which has caused us to be set back, or the need to have financial balance so that we can live or the emotions to get through a difficult life event. All of them require that we trust God to get us through. God never says that God will not give us more than we can handle. That is a myth. What God says is that God will gives the strength, courage and tools to get through.

We must believe that God will restore what we have lost or had taken from us. I love the story of Job that reminds us that faith is not about what we have in the good times, but what believe in the worst of times. When we build our faith around God, we find that when the storms come, we have a peace and calm that often makes little sense. Proverbs tells us that God will restore sevenfold what we have lost. I have seen person after person who has struggled with illness find peace and restoration in the power of God.

We must learn to stay in the game. We cannot run every time the battle gets a little tense or we think we might not prevail. Being a great disciple of Jesus Christ, a follower of His teaching and His message of hope and love is not an easy thing to do. But when we truly work on building our trust and faith in Him in the good times, we can weather the rough times. But only if we stay in the battle. I think about the anxieties and fears that many have about the future. We cannot know what tomorrow will bring so Jesus teaches us not to worry. Is not the smallest of birds and the most beautiful plants taken care of by God and if God will do that for them, will God not do so for you and me. I think about the residue of a forest fire. During the storm of the fire, things do perish and there is great destruction. But after the fire, God’s wonderful creation begins to return and blossom in wonderful ways. So too, our lives when facing the giants of illness, tragedy and even death, can then blossom into great ministries of courage and faith.

God reminds us that during the storm, we are not to be afraid. The term, “be not afraid” is in the Bible 365 times. Interestingly, that is one time for every day of the year. God tells us that God has got this. No matter what we are facing, no matter what we have to deal with, God wants us to know that God has us in the palm of God’s hand. So we have nothing to fear. Now that is easy to say and hard to convince ourselves when faced with illness, crisis and even death. But it is true that time after time, God has gotten us through these events and when we come out on the other side, we are stronger.

God is with us every step of every day. Our giants are simply the growth of our own fears. God has this. Now I am not saying that we will not face our own Goliath’s in our lives. There is cancer, job loss, emotional heartbreak and even death that all of us must deal with on this journey we are on. But what I am saying is that God is with us every step of the way. God has our back. If we trust in the power of God, we can overcome every obstacle and though we may suffer along the way, the promise is that we will be lifted up by the power of the one who created us.

“When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love in the spring becomes the rose”