Ginormous

1Samuel 17:4-7 A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him.

They loom around us every day. Giants. Giants that overwhelm us. I have them. You have them. Some are self imposed. Some come from the world around us. The smallest things can evolve into giants if we let them.

Every morning I turn on the news and another major corporation needs to be bailed out, or the stock market (aka my retirement) had plummeted again, or the government is bailing out another gluttonous organization, or another suicide bomber carry's out his assignment. Giants over which I have no control over continuoulsy rain down.

What about the personal giants? My grocery cart is full of the same stuff every week but the total is $50 higher.... Winter is looming, but if I turn increase the heat how will I pay for that cart of groceries.... I made the mistake of opening my quarterly retirement statement a couple of weeks ago.... I try to give experience based advice to my kids but they don't hear it....am I doing what I was created to do....

8-10 Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops, "Why bother using your whole army? Am I not Philistine enough for you? And you're all committed to Saul, aren't you? So pick your best fighter and pit him against me. If he gets the upper hand and kills me, the Philistines will all become your slaves.

Our giants taunt us. They try to convince us they're unconquerable. But, how we choose to respond to them makes all the difference.

11 When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.

Fear paralyzes and destroys. It's reactive. What if, what if we put our hope and trust in God and not ourselves or the government....

45-47 David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day GOD is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that GOD doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to GOD—he's handing you to us on a platter!"

Faith conquers.

48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

Times are tough. There's no doubt. What are relying you on? Yourself, the government, or God?

Burlap to Cashmere release a song a few years ago entitles "Anybody out there" The chorus went like this.....

Is there anybody out there
Does anybody care
Are the people really there,
Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh
Is there anybody seeking
Does anybody see
Or are they deaf and dumb like me