Hey, Giant! Who You Callin' Fat?

Hey, Giant!  Who You Callin' Fat?

"Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand..."

-1 Samuel 17:45-46a

Of all the intimidating things in the world, who would think that the blaring, hot, sun-drenched beaches would cause a person to cower?  Normally, walking hand-in-hand in the warm, evening breeze or picnics in the park would not be frightening.  But to a few of us, summer was a time that underscored our lack of discipline in vivid terms.  Sunshine exposed the sad rewards of overindulgence.

Heavily clad in vain cover-ups, we knew the high summer temperatures might cause us to have a heat stroke!  That might sound strange, but many people understand what I’m saying.  What about when friends slip out of their winter clothes and slip on t-shirts and shorts to enjoy the outdoor fun.

Ever gone on a crash diet because you realize you’re going to the beach?  It is that heart-wrenching pulse-racing panic that comes when you realize you’re going to be the only one lying on the beach who attracts whale watchers!

The thing that makes us feel this way is our weight.  This one recurring giant who laughs at you every time you pass a mirror and says “Hey, fatso, what are you gonna do about it?”  Or at least that’s the way it sounds in my head.  This giant has made us fearful, shy, intimidated, and for some extreme cases causes us to hide ourselves away from our family and friends, and especially the beach!

Well, my friends it is time for us to be giant-killers, just like David.  When Goliath challenged the Army of Israel, because he was over 9 feet tall, all of the Army was fearful.  But young David, a shepherd, when he heard the rantings of this Philistine, looked around and said, “whose gonna take this uncircumcised Philistine on?”  David knew that God was able to help him, because only a few days before, he had been able to kill a lion and a bear who were about to steal some of his sheep.

This battle we have with our weight just may be the biggest giant we will ever face.  But God is able to help us be victorious.  We know the story, David went out to meet Goliath, stopped by the brook and picked up five smooth stones.  David told Goliath, “You come at me with a spear and a sword, but I come to you in the name of the Lord God Almighty, who this day will deliver you into my hands.”  The giant laughed.  David put one stone in his sling and began to swing…round and round it went and he let loose of the stone.  The stone met its mark and the giant fell down dead.

In our weight-loss journey we have our own 5 smooth stones… D-R-E-A-M.