Every giant introduces a man to himself, and mine was a small, polite church secretary

1. Every giant introduces a person to himself

Every time you or I face a giant it reveals a lot about who we are. Whether a personal crisis, a person, or an overwhelming problem, that giant serves as a mirror to help me see myself.

I remember one of the first ministry giants I faced was in the form of a tiny, petite lady in our church who happened to be the wife of one of the leaders in the church and the church secretary. To get to the point, she didn't like the way I was running the youth program and proceeded to discuss it with everyone else but me. Essentially she was undermining everything I did.

Realizing this just couldn't continue, I mustered up all the courage I could as a young kid of 21 years of age, and confronted her on the issue. I shared with her how what she was doing was hurting my ministry and how I needed her support as a person of influence in the church.

I'm happy to say that she responded favorably and as a result I not only gained her support but also her respect.

Someone has said, "The size of a person is measured by the size of the challenges he or she is willing to face." You see, a lot of times, rather than face the giant we choose to run from it, ignore it, or just pretend it doesn't exist.

That giant encounter helped me learn that every giant I was ever going to face in life was going to reintroduce me to myself. And when I faced them and dealt with them appropriately, though not always successfully, I could walk away with a certain amount of self-respect. I could say to myself, "George, that took courage. Way to go! You were not sure how that was going to turn out but you faced it! Good job."

A challenge doesn't make us. It only reveals the stuff of which we are made.

Quoted in the piece

2. People growing to their highest potential have defeated giants

It is true about sports teams, business teams, church leadership teams, marriages, families. No one will ever be all they can be without somewhere, sometime facing and overcoming great obstacles.

In 1962 a book was published that is now out of print called Cradles of Imminence. It was a book that studied the lives of 413 famous and successful people for five years, attempting to discover a common thread in their life that would show why they were so successful.

After five years of close examination, it was noted that of the 413 people, 392 of them had faced unbelievable problems in their life. And they began to realize that the people who were coming out on top were the people who had been under overwhelming odds.

Booker T. Washington, the great African-American educator, once said: "You cannot ever judge success by what position you have, you can only judge success by what you had to overcome to get there."

3. Giants are often tools God uses to shape us for bigger things

Giants are tools God uses to make us better people, stronger people, and more mature people.

In the story of David and Goliath, it was not uncommon for one man to represent an army. They did that so there would not be a major loss of life. Each army would send forth their champion and put him up against the opposing army's warrior. And whichever army won, the other would submit to a certain period of slavery.

In other words, the giant represented something much bigger than just himself. He represented the whole army.

Likewise, the giants you and I face seldom stand alone. Most problems you and I face represent a lot more than just what we are encountering or what we are seeing at the moment.

An important lesson for you and me is simply this: when a giant defeats us, others close to us suffer too. However, when we overcome the giants in our life, others enjoy the victory and are blessed.

So ask yourself, what giant am I facing today? What are you discovering about yourself? How are you growing through this challenge? What is God building in your life in the process?