Monday 22 July 2013

Facing Your Giants

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. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. (1 Sam 17:45-46 NIV)

David sees what others don't and refuses to see what others do. All eyes, except David's, fall on the brutal, hate-breathing hulk. All compasses, sans David's, are set on the polestar of the Philistine. All journals, but David's, describe day after day in the land of the Neanderthal. The people know his taunts, demands, size, and strut. They have majored in Goliath.

David sees the armies of God. And because he does, David hurries and runs toward the army to meet the Philistine (17:48).

You might say that David knew how to get a head of his giant.

When was the last time you did the same? How long since you ran toward your challenge? We tend to retreat, duck behind a desk of work or crawl into a nightclub of distraction or a bed of forbidden love. For a moment, a day, or a year, we feel safe, insulated, anesthetized, but then the work runs out, the liquor wears off, or the lover leaves, and we hear Goliath again. Booming. Bombastic.

Try a different tack. Rush your giant with a God-saturated soul. Giant of divorce, you aren't entering my home! Giant of depression? It may take a lifetime, but you won't conquer me. Giant of alcohol, bigotry, child abuse, insecurity ... you're going down. How long since you loaded your sling and took a swing at your giant?

Too long, you say? Then David is your model. God called him "a man after my own heart" (Acts 13:22 NIV). He gave the appellation to no one else. Not Abraham or Moses or Joseph. He called Paul an apostle, John his beloved, but neither was tagged a man after God's own heart.

One might read David's story and wonder what God saw in him. The fellow fell as often as he stood, stumbled as often as he conquered. He stared down Goliath, yet ogled at Bathsheba; defied God-mockers in the valley, yet joined them in the wilderness. An Eagle Scout one day. Chumming with the Mafia the next. He could lead armies but couldn't manage a family. Raging David. Weeping David. Bloodthirsty. God-hungry. Eight wives. One God

A man after God's own heart? That God saw him as such gives hope to us all. David's life has little to offer the unstained saint. Straight-A souls find David's story disappointing. The rest of us find it reassuring. We ride the same roller coaster. We alternate between swan dives and belly flops, souffles and burnt toast.

Giants. We must face them. Yet we need not face them alone. Focus first, and most, on God. The times David did, giants fell. The days he didn't, David did.




This excerpt is taken from Facing Your Giants.

Lucado's study of David's life shows how God triumphs in our circumstances despite our less-than-perfect pasts.







Max Lucado is a preacher with a storyteller’s gift—a pastor’s heart and a poet’s pen.
Max’s sermons begin at home with the congregation at Oak Hills Church, which he has led for more than two decades. It is in this setting that his stories are first told, from a pastor’s heart. Eventually some of these sermons and stories are refined and fashioned into books that are shared far beyond the walls of Oak Hills and the city limits of San Antonio, Texas. Max’s words have traveled around the world in more than 41 languages via more than 100 million individual products. Most of these products are books (82 million), which have now occupied spots on every major national bestseller list. Over the years Max Lucado has been featured in countless national media outlets, dubbed “America’s Pastor” by Reader’s Digest, and even named one of the most influential leaders in social media by The New York Times.
Yet those who know him best will tell you that these accolades and accomplishments aren’t important to Max. His pastor’s heart, which longs to encourage the brokenhearted and to bind up the hurting, moves Max to the next sermon, the next book. His mission is simple—to overflow to others the grace and encouragement which has been lavished on him by God.
Max was born in a small town in West Texas, the youngest son of an oil field mechanic and a nurse. He grew up in church but as a teen took a different road, walking away from his parent’s faith. One starry summer night, after downing a six-pack of beer, Max began to wonder if there wasn’t more to life than parties and chasing pretty girls. Not long afterward, a Bible class at nearby Abilene Christian University stirred his heart again, drawing the young student into the unconditional love of God.
Max left West Texas with a master’s degree in Biblical Studies and a deep desire to share God’s love and mercy with others. When he landed in a small church near Miami, Florida, one of his duties as an associate pastor was to write the weekly church newsletter. It was then he discovered a powerful synergy between his passion for people, pastoral ministry, and writing. It was also in Florida that he discovered a lovely young woman named Denalyn, now his wife of more than 30 years.
Max and Denalyn decided as young marrieds to move to the mission field in Rio de Janeiro to help plant new churches. While in Brazil, Max continued to write, updating friends and family about their ministry and how God was lavishing love on missionaries and Brazilians alike. Eventually Max gathered the newsletters into a manuscript and sent them off to a dozen publishers. Only one said yes.
Max Lucado’s first book, On the Anvil, was published in 1985. 2013 brings the release of Max’s 30th trade book, You’ll Get Through This (September), which beautifully illustrates Lucado’s ongoing mission to encourage the brokenhearted and to remind all readers of the healing love of God.
Max and family moved back to Texas in 1988, and Max has been a minister at Oak Hills Church ever since. Max and Denalyn have three grown daughters, two in ministry, one in publishing, and one son-in-law, also serving in ministry.




No comments:

Post a Comment