✝️Your Giant Isn't Bigger Than God

Good morning, my brothers! We all love an underdog story because it mirrors something we’re living. Most of us are facing battles that feel bigger than us right now. The real question isn’t whether God can fight for us, but whether we trust Him enough to step forward when the outcome isn’t guaranteed. Let’s go!

This week: 4-minute, 47-second read

Miracle On Ice

With the Winter Olympics starting next week, the 1980 USA Hockey team's victory over the then-Soviet Union has been back on the front burner. I was 14 years old at the time, and I can still hear Al Michael’s iconic call clear as day:

“Do you believe in miracles?” The incredible Miracle on Ice. No one gave the Americans a chance against the Soviets. And yet, the upstart American college kids defeated the mighty Soviet hockey dynasty.

To this day, that game remains one of the most thrilling underdog stories in sports history. And we all love a great underdog story.

Why We Root for the Underdog

It’s why sports pull so many of us guys in so deeply. Every season, every tournament, every Olympics, we’re watching for that moment when the impossible happens. When the team that “has no shot” finds a way to win anyway.

We see it, and we say it almost instinctively. David beat Goliath.

I think one reason we love it when the underdog wins is that, deep down, we want this to be true in our own lives, too. We want to believe that the giant intimidating us, whatever form it takes, doesn’t automatically get the final word.

That’s why the original story of David and Goliath, found in 1 Samuel 17, has never lost its power.

It isn’t just a children’s story or a metaphor borrowed by sports commentators. It is a declaration about how God works in the real world, in real battles, with real consequences.

A shepherd boy walks onto a battlefield carrying nothing that should make him competitive. No armor. No sword. No experience that would impress a military strategist. Across from him stands a giant trained for war, backed by an army, dripping with confidence and intimidation.

On the surface, it’s absurd.

But the story changes completely once you understand what David understood.

David’s Confidence Was Never in Himself

Standing in front of Goliath, David says something that reframes the entire battle. He tells everyone watching that the outcome will not be determined by weapons, strength, or strategy. He says the battle belongs to the Lord and that God Himself will decide how it ends.

David did not step forward because he believed in himself. He stepped forward because he believed in God.

That distinction matters more than we often realize.

David’s confidence was not rooted in his ability to win. It was rooted in his trust that God was sovereign, present, and faithful. His responsibility was not to control the outcome. His responsibility was obedience.

Obedience, even when it looked impossible. Impossible in his own strength.

Faith That Trusts God Either Way

That same posture of faith reappears in one of the most sobering moments in Scripture.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are standing before a furious king, facing a furnace so hot it kills the men who feed it. They are given a clear choice: bow to a false god and live, or remain faithful and die.

There is no clever escape plan for these three. No guarantee of rescue. Seemingly, no hope.

And yet, they respond with a calm, grounded confidence that feels almost unsettling. They tell the king that the God they serve can deliver them. Then they say something even more profound:

They acknowledge that even if God chooses not to deliver them, their faith will not waver.

They knew God could save them. But more importantly, they knew God was worthy of their trust regardless of the outcome.

That is the kind of faith most of us say we want, but struggle to live out. I know I do.

Because if we’re honest, we often trust God with conditions attached. We trust Him if the marriage improves. We trust Him if the addiction finally loosens its grip. We trust Him if the diagnosis changes, if the business survives, if the loneliness lifts.

We trust Him, as long as He delivers us the way we want to be delivered.

But biblical faith runs deeper than that.

David didn’t trust God because he knew he would win. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t trust God because they were promised rescue. They trusted God because He was God.

You Are Not Fighting Your Battles Alone

My brother, the battles you and I are fighting may not look like a battlefield or a furnace, but they are just as real.

You are fighting in your mind. You are fighting temptation, discouragement, fear, shame, and isolation. You are fighting the quiet lies that tell you that you are not enough, that it’s too late, that this struggle defines you, that God is distant or disappointed.

And the enemy wants you to believe you are meant to fight these battles alone, relying on your willpower, your discipline, or your ability to hold it together.

That, too, is a lie.

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus said something to His disciples that still challenges the way we think about strength and presence. He told them it was actually better for them if He left, because His departure would usher in something greater. He promised the coming of the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, who would not just walk beside them, but live within them.

That promise did not expire with the early church.

At the moment you surrendered your life to Christ, the Holy Spirit took up residence within you. God Himself now dwells in you. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is not distant or theoretical. He is personal. He is present.

You are not fighting your Goliaths with empty hands.

The Battle Is Still the Lord’s.

Sometimes that means God delivers us dramatically, changing circumstances in ways only He could orchestrate. Other times, it means He sustains us, strengthens us, and transforms us while the fire still burns. Either way, victory is not defined by comfort or ease. Victory is defined by faithfulness.

Your calling is not to predict the outcome. Your calling is obedience.

To step forward when fear tells you to retreat.

To trust when clarity is lacking.

To stand firm even when the furnace heats up.

God has never lost a battle. And He has not stepped away from yours.

So take time this week to sit with the story of David and Goliath. Let it remind you where real strength comes from. The battle belongs to the Lord. Always has. Always will.

Live in that truth, my brother. And be more the man God has called you to be, for His glory.

For Reflection This Week

1. What is the main giant you’re facing right now? Name it clearly instead of minimizing it or avoiding it.

2. Which area of God’s will is most under pressure in this season (holiness, surrender, worship, love, sacrifice, evangelism, or faithful work)? Why?

3. Where are you trusting God only if He delivers the outcome you want? What would it look like to trust Him even if He does not?

4. What specific step of obedience is God asking you to take this week? Be concrete, not general.

5. Who will you invite into this battle for accountability and prayer? When will you reach out?

-Will