When Giants Feel Too Big

Understanding Your Giant

What is your giant? That thing in front of you that feels crazy overwhelming, that keeps you up at night? We all have giants—some with a name and a face, others that exist only in our minds and hearts. Maybe it's anxiety about the future, a pain you're in the middle of, something at work, a financial crisis, or a loss you think you'll never get over.

Here's the big idea: your giant is not as big as you think. You might push back on that, but consider your past. How many of you have faced a giant years ago that you thought you'd never overcome? And here you are today, realizing it wasn't as big as you thought. Could it be that we give our giants more credit than they deserve?

When We Give Giants Too Much Credit

I've experienced this personally. There was a time my wife Jamie and I were meeting with our coach and counselor, sharing a really big giant we were facing. I was overwhelmed, explaining how massive it was. When I finished, he said, "Can I just tell you something? I hope you're not offended." He gave me one word: Enough. "Enough is enough," he said. "You've given this thing too much credit. You think it's too big. Try to move on."

That pierced my heart because he was right. I had given my giant more power than it deserved. Maybe that's the word you need to hear today.

The Anatomy of a Giant Killer

The Story of David and Goliath

We're looking at 1 Samuel 17—one of the most epic stories in all of scripture, even if you've never been to church before. The danger we face, since we've heard this story so many times, is that our familiarity makes us sugarcoat what God meant to shake us to our core.

Let me give you the context. In chapter 16, David was anointed as king. But here's the thing: it took almost 15 years for him to actually become king. When chapter 17 hits, he's not king yet—he's back to shepherding, tending sheep. God doesn't give David a crown right away. He gives him a Goliath. A giant to slay.

The Philistines and the Valley

The Philistines—the enemies of God in the Old Testament—are gathering for war. God's people and the Philistines are on opposite hills, with the Valley of Elah between them. A champion named Goliath comes out of the Philistine camp.

Now, this word "champion" is significant. It's a Hebrew word used only here in scripture. It means "the man in between." Think about it: here's God's people with a vision for where He wants them to go, and one man stands in between—the obstacle, the barrier. A giant stands between you and where God wants you to go.

The Intimidating Enemy

Goliath comes out every morning and every evening to taunt God's people. And listen—when I have a giant in my life, it's the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to bed. Some of you wake up at 2 or 3 a.m. with your mind racing about your giant, unable to rest.

What's interesting is that in Israel at this time, the people were supposed to bring sacrifices to the tabernacle every morning and evening. Many scholars believe Goliath came out at exactly those times—specifically designed to keep God's people away from worship. Giants are designed to taunt us and keep us away from where God wants us to head.

As for Goliath's size: he was six cubits and a span—approximately 9 feet 9 inches tall. Everything about him was designed to intimidate. He wore a bronze helmet, bronze armor weighing 125 pounds, and carried a spear weighing 25 pounds. The average person in David's day was about 5 feet 5 inches tall. Goliath was almost twice as big as anyone else. That is crazy intimidating.

A Shepherd Boy Arrives

David wasn't even on the battlefield at first. His brothers were there, but David was still tending sheep—he wasn't twenty years old yet, and that was the age requirement for the army. His father sent him with supplies: roasted grain, bread, and cheese to check on his brothers.

The moment David arrived, Goliath came out to taunt. While everyone else was fearful, David was defiant. "How dare you defy my God?" He started asking around, "What happens to the guy who defeats this giant?"

When King Saul heard about this brave young man, he invited David in. David said, "I'm your guy. Put me on the field, coach." Saul looked him over and said, "You're too small and too inexperienced. Look at how big Goliath is, and how experienced."

But David's response was crucial. He said, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. I want to recall for you the faithfulness of my God." He told Saul about the lion and the bear he had killed while protecting his flock. "I've never faced this giant before, but I've faced others. And by the way, this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God."

Three Principles of a Giant Slayer

Principle One: Yesterday's Lions Have Prepared You for Today's Giants

You may not know it. You may not feel it because the giant's big. But your past struggles have prepared you for this giant today. Think back on your life—all of us have faced something hard. Sometimes it's in the same area, and it's great preparation for what we're facing now. We've just forgotten it.

You might be in a financial mess today. Have you ever been in a financial mess before? You may have lost someone and think this loss is unbearable. Have you ever lost someone before? I know this one feels bigger. It is bigger. But yesterday's lions have prepared you for today's giants.

You may not have experience with this specific situation, but you have experience with God. If you're a follower of Jesus, you've seen God come through in the past. If you forget that, you'll get overwhelmed by the giant in front of you.

Principle Two: Don't Confuse Big with Unbeatable

Don't you dare confuse something that looks really big with something that's completely unbeatable. Says who? Says you?

Scripture gives us an incredibly detailed description of Goliath—outside of descriptions of Satan, this is one of the longest enemy descriptions in all of scripture. The details of his size, bronze armor, shield—it's meant to show us how big this issue really is. He looks unbeatable.

But what if his greatest strength—his size—was hiding his greatest weakness?

Now, scripture doesn't say this explicitly, but what we know today about gigantism is that people with this condition often have a pituitary gland disorder that causes vision problems. They can have double vision, extreme nearsightedness, or even blindness.

Look at verse 42-43. When David comes on the battlefield, Goliath looks at him and says, "Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?" Sticks is plural. David has one staff from being a shepherd. Why would Goliath see multiple sticks? Could it be that his vision isn't very good? Could his shield bearer be walking in front of him to guide him because of his vision? Could it be that when David slung that stone, Goliath barely even saw it coming?

But here's the main point, whether or not Goliath had vision problems: all the soldiers looked at Goliath and said, "He's so big, he's unbeatable." David looked at the same giant and said, "He's so big, how could I miss?" That's faith.

When you face a giant, you can look at it through the lens of fear or faith. When you look through fear, your giant automatically gets bigger—you give it more credit than it deserves. When you look through faith, it puts your giant in proper perspective.

Principle Three: Size Up Your Giant Next to God, Not Yourself

This is the most important principle. You have to size up your giant not against you—because you'll always be overwhelmed—but against the God you serve.

Some of you are facing bigger giants than we could even imagine. When I was writing this message on Monday morning, I got a phone call from a very close friend. They had just found their daughter, and she'd taken her life. I know what they've been through already. How do you face that giant? That is big.

Some of you might be facing a pink slip, a panic attack, a nasty divorce, overwhelming debt. The difference is this: when you look at your giant through the lens of how big you are versus how big God is—that makes all the difference.

Here's what we usually do: we look at our giant and ask, "How big is Goliath compared to me?" And it's always huge.

But here's the question David asked: "How big is Goliath compared to my God?"

You have a God that is bigger than you could ever imagine. He went to a cross and shed his blood. He has nail-pierced feet and hands to show the lengths He will go to rescue you. There is one man in human history who died and rose again and conquered death—Jesus Christ—and He is the only one who can save you.

Compared to God, He can squash anything. But that's the perspective we need.

David's Demonstration

Watch how David had this perspective. When Goliath came closer and closer, making himself bigger and bigger to David, Goliath despised him. He said, "Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks? I'll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals."

But David never once commented on the size of the giant. He just kept commenting on the size of his God:

"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. The Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give all of you into our hands."

Then David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. He reached into his bag, took out one stone, slung it, and struck Goliath in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath fell face down on the ground. David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone—without even a sword in his hand.

Here's my observation: David's speech about God is longer than the fight. Why? Because the speech is the point. David was showing us that when you face a giant, you don't compare it against you. You compare it against the size of your God, and you talk about the size of your God over and over and over again.

The Power You Already Have

You have a God that went to the cross to save you. He died for you. If you don't rely on the power that's been given to you to face all your giants, you'll always be overwhelmed.

Throughout this series, I want to say this to those of you who have not given your life to Jesus, who have not repented of your sin, who have not declared Him as Lord and been baptized: of course you're going to be overwhelmed for the rest of your life. You don't have the power of Jesus' resurrection inside of you. That may be your big takeaway today.

Let me tell you a story. A young boy was playing in a field while his father watched. There was a huge boulder in his path, and he kept trying to push it. Push. It wouldn't budge. His dad yelled out, "Hey, you're not using all your strength!" The boy tried harder and harder. Nothing. He looked at his dad with tears going down his face and said, "Dad, I'm using all my strength." His dad looked back and said, "No, you're not, because you haven't asked me to help."

That's how some of us face our giants—relying on our own power, our own strength. What God wants to say to you today is: put your giant in perspective. Keep looking at that giant in comparison to Me, not your own strength.

Remember Your Identity as a Giant Slayer

Remember: your giant's not as big as you think. You may be giving it way too much credit. You can't get a good night's sleep. You can't function. Your giant's not as big as you think.

How do you become a giant slayer?

1. Yesterday's lions have prepared you for today's giants.
2. Don't confuse big with unbeatable.
3. Size up your giant next to God, not yourself.

I'll be honest—I don't always have this perspective. I have my own doubts, my own insecurities, my own fears. There are times I've prayed and asked God, "Can you bring smaller giants?" But here's what I've determined: as long as I'm going to use my life to make a difference on this earth for Jesus Christ, there won't be smaller giants. They get bigger.

The giants don't get smaller. If you're looking for smaller giants, get out of the game. You don't need smaller giants—you need a bigger view of God.

As a follower of Jesus, you're in enemy-occupied territory. The giants will keep coming. But you have the resurrection power of God inside of you. God wants to show us exactly what He wants to say. He wants to help us walk not by our own power, but by the strength of His spirit.

Go from here as a group of giant slayers. Not by your own strength, but by His.