I haven’t seen any giants loitering in my backyard lately, but I know about giants who mock while I cringe in discouragement, fear and defeat. You know them, too.
When we’ve made a bills-due list compared to expected income, the giant laughs, “You’ll never catch up. Why don’t you give up?” When a boss fails to invite us to a meeting, the giant mocks, “You don’t matter.” When a girlfriend forgets our birthday, the giant taunts, “No one cares.” And when we forgot her birthday, the giant snarls, “You are so selfish.”
At each turn, the giants spew venom, “You are worthless. You failed again. Your God isn’t real.”
Maybe your giant is your job — that success you fought to reach. The hours at graduate school, the résumés and the headhunter’s fees. Finally, you landed the dream job only to discover that the work isn’t interesting — much less glamorous. You feel used. Irrelevant. Perhaps you selected the teacher route. The monotonous paperwork and binding restrictions are so severe you rarely see one of those magical moments when a child’s eyes light up with understanding. Maybe you decided on the professional arena or you learned a craft only to feel stuck and bound as you struggle to follow the regulations and expectations. Suppose you elected the sales route. You’re a natural. You can convince anyone to buy what he or she doesn’t even need. You expected to saturate your territory and reap those sweet bonus checks, but the quotas are set too high, and your competitors undercut every gain. Maybe your company sold out to a huge conglomerate. Once you were a valued employee on a first-name basis with the owner; now you’re a computer number at headquarters two thousand miles away.
What if your giant is a mountain of laundry and endless chores? You chose to be a stayat-home mom, but you feel like a slave.
When you awoke this morning, achy stiffness reminded that you are over 50 and your dreams are vaporized by reality. You wonder, Is it too late? You long for another child, but your husband says, “no way.” The subject grows like a giant wall between the two of you. You’ve spent thousands to cure infertility only to face disappointment when the newest treatment fails — again. You dreamed you might do something great for God. When you were a teen, you even told Him you’d go to the mission field, but now you have a family, a house and a job.
You feel under-utilized at church too.
Something gnaws at you. Why am I here? What is life about? Is this all there is? You have a hole in your innermost being that feels empty, dark and cold. You long for something or someone to fill it. When we hear about David and Goliath, we are amazed to see the miracle and the young boy’s victory, but one question always gnaws at me. Why did David pick up five stones? He only needed one.
I believe David picked up the other four stones because he thought that he might have to fight Goliath’s four brothers.
Goliath was the son of a man named Rapha, a descendant of Anak. Rapha fathered at least five sons — each one fiercer than the other. After David killed Goliath, the Philistines ran away. But the battles with the Philistines continued for years. In a few obscure verses in 2 Samuel 21, Goliath’s brothers attacked — four giants and four mighty warriors are named. The surprise is in the meanings of their names. Each giant is familiar to your life, and each warrior represents the weapon God has provided. I want you to discover these secrets so you can slay giants.
Make no mistake, the giants want to destroy you and me.
These sassy giants strut and sting our souls. We are not equipped to fight the battle. But God’s weapons outsmart each giant who dares to raise its ugly head. Unless we have God’s weapons, we will fail. Don’t fight the giants alone.
Join me at Arise Esther Conference. With His help, we will fight for our lives.
