Facing My Giants

It's Saturday and I'm writing a post. That's because I am sitting in my bed, still bundled beneath the covers at ten thirty in the morning watching the movie Facing the Giants. And about forty eight minutes into it, I am struck in such a powerful way I thought of so many of us precious friends on this journey of life. And I knew this was worth sharing.

So here's the scene: Losing football team. Little confidence left in themselves. A football coach who many are wanting out of his job. He's just found out he can't have children. And his team is falling apart at the seams. They have just finished practicing and one of his players is cutting up. He calls him over to the front of the team and below is the conversation. The coach's words are in brown and the players words are in blue. But remember this before you begin. Up until that moment the players have only ever done ten yard "death crawls". A death crawl is when one player is crawling on all fours while carrying another player on his back. Also remember, for those of you who are football challenged, the length of a football field is a hundred yards.

"I want you to do the death crawl."
"What you want me to go to the thirty yard line?"
"I think you to go to the fifty."
"I can do it if no one's on my back."
"I think you can do it with Jeremy on your back. But I want your best."
"Alright." he shrugs.
"Your best." the coach says more firmly
"Ok." "You’re going to give me your best?"
"I’m going to give you my best." he finally says with true conviction.
"Okay, but I want you to do it blindfolded."
"Why?"
"Because I don’t want you giving up when you can go farther."

The boy starts out at the one yard line. The coach is standing above him, talking confidently. "Show me good effort."
"A little bit left."
"That a way Brock."
"There you go."
"It’s a good start."
"A little bit left."

Brock stops and takes a rest.
"Don't give up on me Brock."
"I'm not coach. I'm just resting."

Brock starts back up.
The coaches encouragement grows louder.
"Your very best."
"Don't quit on me."
"There you go."
"Don't quit until you've got nothing left."
"That's it."
"That's it."

Brock's pace slows.
"It hurts. It hurts. He’s heavy. I’m almost out of strength."
The coach drops to his knees and begins to crawl next to him. Now he is screaming his encouragement in his ear and crawling along beside him.
"Then you negotiated with your body. It’s all heart from here!"
"It burns!" Brock says his struggle growing.
Coach screams louder. "Let it burn!"
"It’s all heart!"
"My arms are burning!" He's slowing more now.
"You promised me your best!"
"Your best!"
"It’s too hard!"
"It’s not too hard!"
"You give me your best!"
"Don’t quit! No!"
"Keep Going!"
"Don’t Quit!"
"Don’t Quit!"
"Give me more!"
"Give me your best!"
"Don’t Quit!"
"Don’t Quit!"
"Brock Kelly you don’t quit on me!"
"You keep Going!"
"Ten more steps!"
"Ten More!"
"Ten More!"
"I can’t do it!"
"You can! Just five more!"
"Five More!"
"Don’t Quit!"
"Two More!"
"One More!"

Brock collapses to the ground. The coach falls to the ground in front of him.
"I can’t make it to the sixty. I don’t have anymore." Brock whispers his face buried into the turf. The coach removes his blindfold.
"Look up Brock. You're in the end zone."
"Brock you are the most influential man on this team. If you walk around defeated so will they. You just carried a hundred and forty pound man across the field. And God has gifted you with the ability of leadership. Don’t waste it."

The young man who Brock has been carrying steps in and says, "Uh, Coach."
"Yeah, Jeremy. What is it?"
“I weigh one sixty.”

I stopped the movie and then rewound it and watched it again, and then rewound it and watched it again. It was so powerful. But since you don't have it to watch right now, how about scroll back up and read this one more time. But this time, put the voice of God in the place where the coach's words are and put your name in the place of Brock's. And then place whoever you need to in the place of Jeremy. Then come back to this place...

I don't know what your giants may be today. But I know what mine are. I don't know what you may be carrying on your back either. Maybe it's your children. Maybe it's your marriage. Maybe it's the people you're called to lead at work, or church, or at your school. And you're screaming about now, "I can't do it! It hurts!"

But someone is screaming louder. I've said it before, but I love C.S. Lewis' quote, "God shouts to us in our pain." And He is shouting at you and I. "You can do it! You promised me your best! Keep going! That's it! Keep going!"

But we often limit ourselves. We think we're making real ground if we make it ten yards. But heaven wants us going all the way. So, God blindfolds us. He removes all ability to see where we're headed and leaves us with nothing but blind trust in the voice screaming at us that we can do it! We can make it!

But it is our own fears , our own unbelief in ourselves. Our own desires to want life worked out on our timetable and in our own way. But God's measure of time and distance are not ours. His ways aren't our ways. So He only asks for one thing. Belief in Him. Belief in the fact that if He says we can do it we can do it. Belief in the fact that He is a faithful companion. And belief in the fact that He is more than able of defeating our giants.

He also blindfolds us for another reason. Because being blindfolded removes our focus on how far we have to go. Some of us are so fearful of how long something will take that we're more focused on the distance then what can be learned and gained during the journey.

About two years ago I started a boot camp class. I call it "Body by Bill". Because Bill is our instructor. And for an hour and fifteen minutes he does nothing but scream at us. And when I get tired Bill tells me there is more in me. He always says, "Don't let a rep beat you." Meaning don't let one more push-up, one more lifting of the weight, one more squat, one more jumping jack, have the final victory. You have the final victory.

Use to, all I did was keep my eyes on the clock, just wanting it to get over. But now, I focus on the burning of my muscles. Because I know every time those muscles burn something is happening. My muscle is being sculpted, my body is changing.

The same is true with our lives. Every time something burns, every time something is painful, our lives are being sculpted. Our body is changing. Progress is being made. We can't give up in the land of the giants.

I'm not sure what your giants may be today. All I can focus on is the ones that I face myself. But what I do know is that God expects nothing of me that He hasn't already fortified me with the strength to accomplish. It's in you too. He knows it because He put it there.

So, no matter the giant, be it infertility, be it financial loss, be it the death of dream, be it a broken marriage, the strength needed for that situation is in us.

But why does it matter? Why does it matter if we make it to the end zone? What happens if we give up halfway? Because we're carrying people. Whether we're in a position of leadership in our home or leadership in a ministry or leadership on a job, someone is depending on us. Be it our children, our spouse, our co-workers, our neighbors. And how we face our giants may very well determine how they face theirs. How are we facing them? Are we mumbling? Complaining? Ridiculing? Whining? Disrespecting those who are actually on our team? Or are we speaking life? Hope? Faith? Confidence in the one who is confident in us?

Every trial we face affords us the opportunity to bring people up to the heights we are willing to climb or down to the depths we choose to wallow in. Every trial affords us the opportunity to cross the finish line carrying someone with us. And I have a feeling when we get there, if we trust the voice of our coach, we will have traveled a distance far greater than we thought we could travel and carried a much greater weight than we thought we were capable of.