REFLECTIONS
October 8, 2006
 
 
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall.
1 Samuel 17:4
 
 
Facing the Giants
 
It’s a compelling scene, the sight of a warrior nine feet tall casting his imposing shadow on a young boy. It is especially compelling when you know that the giant is armed with a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels;  on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. (1 Samuel 17:5-7) And it is compelling because the boy faced the giant knowing that God had armed him with more than just a sling shot and five smooth stones.
The David and Goliath story is one of taking a stand when no one else would; it is a story of the weak overcoming the strong; it is a story of faith conquering fear; it is a story that tells us that with the power of God anything is possible.
Such also is the story told in the recent movie, Facing the Giants. It may be homemade with unpaid actors and the theme may be a familiar one, but there are few movies that tell the story more powerfully. Set in a small Georgia town that has a passion for its high school football team, the movie takes on the appearance of Friday Night Lights but with the spirit found in Hoosiers and the warmth of Lassie Come Home.
The central figure in Facing the Giants is Coach Grant Taylor, a man under pressure to win football games with players that don’t believe they can. But there are other life-size giants besides winning football games. There is the financial pressure to provide a decent home to live in and a functional car to drive; there is the emotional stress to father a child when fertility is in question, and there is the spiritual test to trust in God as these giants cast their imposing shadows on a life teetering at the brink of failure. And there is the discovery that with the power of God anything is possible.
We all face giants in our lives. The giants may be imposing threats to life like David faced, or they may be emotional tests like those that confronted Coach Taylor. They each faced their giants, but as they faced them, David knew and Coach Taylor learned that faith in God’s power can conquer giants.
And faith in God’s power will also conquer the giants we are facing. With the power of God anything is possible.
 
“You are the light of the world.”
Richard Ì
 


Click here for Printer Friendly Version