Facing Giants when you feel small

Chapter 11 / Facing Your Giants When You Feel Small

Imagine the scene: a scrawny sixteen year old shepherd boy takes out a 9’9” tall giant with one rock and a sling.

You may not have a gigantic giant taunting you to come out and fight.  But you are probably facing a few giants of your own.  Giants like the stack of past-due bills glaring at you.  Like the divorce papers waiting on your signature.  Or the depression that looms over you like the Hulk.  It could be low self-esteem or insecurity or child abuse in your past.  But you have your giants.  And so do I.  And we would do well to learn from David.

He could face his “giant” because he had spent time in the quiet with God.  When he arrived at the place of the standoff between the Israelites and the Philistines, he talked about God.  He told Saul that “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine” (1Sam.17:37). He did not hesitate to confront Goliath, saying he came “in the name of the Lord of host, the God of the armies of Israel.” 

David was God-focused instead of giant-focused.  He mentions Goliath two times and God nine times.  He knew the giant was there and recognized his presence.  But his thoughts were twice as much on God. 

That focus led him to confront his giant rather than run away.  For forty days Goliath continued to challenge Israel’s army.  And for forty days everyone hoped he would just go away.  But giants don’t typically go away until we face them.  So David stepped into the gap and slung one well-aimed stone at him.

It helps to have someone in your corner that believes in you.  David had his Jonathan.  You need yours.  You need at least one person who believes in you and that also believes in God.  Someone who can encourage your faith—give you courage—when you most need it.

And you will need it.  Because after you slay one giant, there will be more.  You may wonder why David picked up five stones from the river bed.  Was he afraid he might miss?  Not likely.  He was skilled in his use of the sling.

2 Samuel 21:18-22 hints that Goliath may have had four brothers.  I think David was ready.  Ready to take out one giant then the next and the next.  You might say he knew how to get a head of his giants.

And you can too.  Just follow the shepherd from Bethlehem and learn from those that did the same.

What Does God Look Like?

What does God look like?  Good question and one that has been uttered by thousands of kids before bedtime prayers and pondered by many adults.  Since God does not take “selifies” we often struggle to get a clear picture of Him.

Ever since Peter Stuyvesant visited the Palace of Versailles the world has had a distorted view of itself.  Peter was the governor of New Amsterdam—later to be renamed New York City—beginning in 1647.  He was visiting France to discuss colonial land agreements.  While at Versailles he was awed by the Hall of Mirrors.

Peter was determined to bring a similarly amazing showcase to his city.  In 1651 he founded the Peter Stuyvesant's House of Mirrors.  He charged one Dutch gulden for admission.

This house of mirrors eventually morphed into what we know as a Fun House of Mirrors seen at many carnivals.  For a few tickets the fun begins by walking into a maze of mirrors, both convex and concave. We amuse ourselves by looking at distorted images of our figure.

Today you don’t even have to go to the carnival for this experience.  A laptop with a webcam and a silly photo feature will allow you to take a picture of yourself that you can manipulate to look odd.

It’s all fun.  But sometimes distorted pictures can cause trouble.  It did in Israel during the time of the prophet Samuel.  One of the major distortions was found at the Tabernacle, that portable place of praise for God’s people.

It was parked at Shiloh and was meant to be a clear picture of God’s holiness and grace.  A system of sacrifices had been established that foreshadowed the coming sacrifice of the Messiah.  Yet anything but holiness was found there.

Eli the priest had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who dishonored God in their treatment of the sacrifices and also engaged in immoral sexual activity with women at the Tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:16, 22).  Because the picture of God they were giving was distorted, these two were killed in battle against the Philistines.  When news of their death reached Eli, he fell over in his chair, broke his neck, and also died.

Just like Eli and his sons we are representatives of God.  We represent Jesus to others.  You may have heard it said that you may be the only Bible those around you will ever ‘read.’  The question is, “Are you giving a clear or distorted picture of the One True God?”

Accepted

Chapter 9 / You Don’t Have to Wait to Be Accepted

High School is wrapping up what’s next.  For many it’s continuing their education at a college.  You will scoured the literature from several universities, finally narrowing your choices.  You visit campuses, narrow the gap by choosing a few schools to focus on.  Make applications.  Fill out forms.  Write essays. 

For anyone who hasn’t “been there, done that,” the filing of the application and financial aid forms is nothing compared to the waiting.  It’s like the first time you look at your girlfriend or boyfriend and say, ‘I love you.”  You’ve made the first move.  And then you wait.  You wait to see if they respond in turn.   

Finally the waiting was over.  In your mailbox is a letter informing you that you can enroll as a freshman.  “YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED!”  Relief washes over you!

We all have a desire to be accepted, don’t we?  In fact, that desire made it into Maslow’s well-known hierarchy of needs.  He theorized that acceptance is basic to our nature and to our psychological health.

Ruth had the same need as we do.  She was a Moabite living in Bethlehem who we meet in The Story.  She ended up there with her mother-in-law Naomi when her husband died.  And she found herself picking up the leftovers after the harvest in a field owned by Boaz.

Boaz discovered she was an outsider—a Moabite—the same people who would oppress his nation for eighteen years.  You’d expect fireworks when they met.  Instead, Boaz tells Ruth, “May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

His acceptance of Ruth goes a step further.  Ruth finds him asleep on the threshing floor and lies down at his feet.  When he awakens, Ruth asks him to “spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a family guardian.”  The word for “garment” is the same Hebrew word for “wings” in the blessing Boaz had pronounced over Ruth.  God’s acceptance came to Ruth through Boaz.

Your acceptance did too.  You see, Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David.  In Matthew’s genealogy the lineage of Jesus is traced through David.  Boaz is there too along with his mother Rahab (Matt. 1:5).   Yes, that Rahab.  The prostitute that lived in Canaan and sheltered the two spies Joshua sent into the land.  Amazing!

Here comes the Judge!

Chapter 8 / When Your Mistakes Land You Before a Judge

It was my tenth grade year at Strasburg High in Strasburg, Colorado.  My student life was shaping up and I was enjoying my life.  The dream of owning my first car had already come true in the form of a 1979 GMC pickup truck.  My dream turned into a nightmare because I had spent a lot of time and money fixing up my continually broken truck.

One day that rotten GMC needed another part that I had to travel into Denver for; a 45 minute trip.  Things did not get off to a good start that day and I was angry most of the day.  I borrowed my father’s car and made the trip into the big city.

For the most part the trip was eventless apart from my constant complaining on how bad my life was.  Sitting at the light I could see the auto parts store on the corner, as the light changed I hit the gas and the car stalled mid-intersection.  In an effort to get through I kept cranking on the starter and eventually the engine roared to life.  I slammed the gearbox down and took off, only by then the lights had changed and what was a green arrow for me was a green light for oncoming traffic.

As I cleared the final lane I noticed a driver not slowing down and before I could say “huh?” he t-boned into the side of my dad’s car at about 45 miles per hour.  The impact was so great that it completely crushed the side of the car, totaling it!  Funny it would still drive.  As the police sorted out the details, I was handed a ticket.

“What?  I was not at fault” I exclaimed!!!  The office just said “take it up with the judge”.

Judges elicit a sense of fear, don’t they?  They never call you in for something you have done right.  We think of them as someone who harshly tells us what we did wrong.  And they seem to be everywhere these days on television.  There’s Judge Judy and Hatchett.  Mathis and Christina.  And my favorite—Judge Wapner (Dating myself). 

Then there are some judges you may not know.  They even have a book in the Bible with their name on it.  Judges.  These judges appeared on the scene to help sort out right and wrong.  They also helped people get out of trouble.

God’s people kept putting themselves into a never ending cycle of disobedience, discipline, declaration of wrong, and deliverance.  Judges like Deborah and Gideon and Samson helped them find their way back to God. 

What did the people do that was so bad they needed judges?  Two things.  First, they failed to put God first in their lives (Judges 1:28).  And secondly, they did not teach their children to know God (Judges 2:10).  These two “sins” led to their downfall and ruin.

Are you making the same mistakes they made?  If so, you have a judge that can help you––Jesus.

The good news is that when he “calls” you into his office after you’ve messed up, you will look up to see your judge’s face and see your savior there.