GOLIATH AIN'T SO BIG

       3000 years ago, a day came when one man represented Israel's dreaded enemy, the Philistines. Claiming their land of milk and honey had never been easy. It always required courage and faith, but the sea-faring people called the "Philistines," the ones who ruled the plains, had been particularly difficult. Now they were moving into the hill country, and their two armies were at a standoff. Neither one could attack the other without being vulnerable. So, in the tradition of the day, the Philistines sent out one warrior to represent the whole lot of them. He was a giant of a man named, "Goliath," and he taunted the Israelites to send a man with whom he could combat- one whom he would kill and feed to the birds. Day after day, Goliath shouted insults, and day after day, the Israelites cowered in fear. And then, as if he was answering God's call, David raised his hand and called out, "Here I am, send me." It was a nice offer, but a foolish one, Saul was sure of that. You're not big enough, he told David. Not strong enough. Not experienced enough... but if you insist, put on the armor of battle. Like Goliath, Saul was thinking "in the box." He was thinking of a hand-to-hand, sword-to-sword, mano-e-mano confrontation between two armored men, but David knew his own strengths. He knew that the Lord had prepared him for this moment... and that he had been blessed with the skill of a "slinger." As Malcolm Gladwell notes, armies in those days consisted of calvary, heavy infantry, and artillery, which included "slingers"... who had mastered the art of slinging rocks and other projectiles with enough accuracy and force to kill both prey and enemy. Historical records show that slingers were capable of hitting targets at 200 yards and that they could kill birds in flight. Thus, in Gladwell's view, David was NOT an underdog, but instead, the right man for the job. God had blessed him, no doubt, but not with a lucky shot. Instead, God had blessed him with the talent to win the day. David was a world-class "slinger," a skill that he had honed over years of use and practice as a shepherd... and Goliath was a dead man... the moment David picked his stones up from the ground... and began to approach him. David knew that he could sling a stone at a frightening speed... and hit this tall Philistine right between the eyes. Goliath never had a chance... because God had equipped David for victory. According to Gladwell, this old story of David and Goliath is not a story of a puny kid who got in a lucky shot, but rather, a story of a skilled warrior who could see that Goliath wasn't so big. He was just tall... that's all.
       Do you know the song, "Big Boss Man"? Elvis covered it, and in part, the lyrics go like this: " Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? Well, you ain't so big... you're just tall... that's all." You're just tall, that's all! The enormous mountain that seems impossible to climb... ain't so big. It's just tall. The heartache that you live with- the one that you've come to believe will be with you forever- ain't so big. It may be tall, but it's not as big as God. There's a woman in our community whose mother told her that she would never be able to live alone. She told her that it was an impossible idea- crazy- but she has lived alone for nearly 30 years. And she's still going strong. It hasn't been easy, and the walks to the grocery store have become longer and steeper... but with a little help from her friends... and the stick-to-itiveness that God blessed her with... she has done fine. The challenge, it turned out, was tall... but it wasn't all that big. I remember a young couple in Joliet. They were gentle people- each of them- and they doted on their two beautiful kids. But on an otherwise ordinary day, one of the kids darted into traffic... and was killed... and the hill before them seemed unclimbable.. but they clung to a God who was much bigger than the hill... and they kept their feet moving, believing that nothing is impossible for God.
      Long before David, an aging man named Abram was called to a life of obedience. He was living in ancient Iraq- in the only culture he had ever known- when God called him to pack up and move to a place that he would be shown. And he went. He faltered a time or two, but he kept the faith, believing that the problems he encountered weren't so big. When the people of God reached the Jordan River the first time, Moses sent 12 spies into the promised land to see if it really was flowing with milk and honey... and it was. But 10 of the spies reported that the land would be impossible to conquer because it was filled with walled cities and giants. They were terrified of the giants, they noted, because they looked like grasshoppers to them... and even to themselves. The problems are giants and we are grasshoppers. Isn't this the image that paralyzes God's people? Isn't this the perspective that undermines the good we are capable of doing? Nelson Mandela once noted that our biggest failing as Christians is not over-reaching, but rather, "playing small," and I would agree. We need an attitude adjustment. We need eyes of faith... to see that our giants "ain't so big." They're just tall, that's all! Jesus fed 5000 men with a couple of fish and a little bread... because nothing is too hard for God. Jesus sent the 12 out, to minister and evangelize, and he told them to travel by faith alone- without a laptop, or a smartphone, or a GPS, or a credit card- because God will provide!
      We have people in our community who are walking through valleys. It's dark and rainy along their path... and every obstacle seems impossibly big! One or two are lost- they don't know which was to turn. One or two are wrestling with addictions, trying to get themselves free. One of two are broken because they've been cheated on. One or two don't know how they'll pay next month's rent. One or two are in toxic relationships. One or two are full-time caregivers and they're afraid of how bad the worse in "for better or worse" might be, and one or two or more are sure that no one would love them if they really knew them. The terrain around us is filled with swamps and mountains. There are shadows all everywhere... and we're temped to feel like grasshoppers. We're tempted to play small and stay out of harm's way. We're tempted to overestimate our foes and to undervalue ourselves. We're tempted to see things in black and white, but King David cries out, "Goliath ain't so big. He just tall... that's all!"