Max Lucado - Facing Your Giants Study Guide

FACING
YOUR
GIANTS

STUDY GUIDE

BY MAX LUCADO

FACING YOUR GIANTS STUDY GUIDE
2006 Max Lucado

The publishers are grateful to Terry Hadaway for his collaboration, writing skills, and editorial help in developing the content for this study guide.

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Scripture quotations are taken from:

The New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Copyright1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-4185-1415-0

Printed in the United States of America

07 08 09 10 11 RRD 10 9 8 7 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

W hen was the last time you really faced the giants in your life? How long since you ran toward your challenge? We tend to retreat, to 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.

This is a study of the life of King Davidan unlikely hero who was consumed with an awesome God. Davids story encompasses both a life of incredible victory and of personal tragedy. In Facing Your Giants Study Guide, you will discover what David knewthat God is bigger than any giants you may face in life. Focus on your giantsyou stumble. Focus on Godyour giants tumble. The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you too.

As you work through this study, you will be challenged by Davids devotion and Gods provision, and you will learn to face your giants with confidence in Gods ability to overcome them.

Each lesson in this study guide features the following sections:

SCRIPTURAL FOCUS: This is the main passage of Scripture for the lesson. To get the most from the lesson, read the passage in its entirety.

LESSON OBJECTIVE: The lesson objective will help you know what to look for in the lesson.

REWIND: In this section, you will take a look at the biblical context for the passage being studied.

RETHINK: Drawing on the foundational principles in the Scripture being studied, you will be challenged to reconsider any thoughts or attitudes you have that might be inconsistent with the Bible.

REFLECT: What would happen if you put these principles to use in your daily life? Would your life change? If so, how?

REACT: Now what? Based on what you learned in this lesson, what will you change about your life?

There also are Small Group Leader Guides in the back of this book that contain additional information and discussion questions to guide you in leading a small group. These guides help make your group sessions easy, effective, and fun.

Giants. We must face them. Yet, we need not face them alone. Learn to focus first, and most, on God.

Lets begin.

LESSON OBJECTIVE: To discover how problems affect our lives and commit to trusting God to overcome them

The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. (1 Samuel 17:3 NKJV)

REWIND: There was nothing about the situation that would have made for a good story line. David, the boyish shepherd was offering to go toe-to-toe with the behemoth, Goliath. It resembled one of those preseason baseball games that pit college players against major leaguers. The outcome usually is predictable; the only unknown is how bad it will be.

Davids preparation involves stopping by the creek to collect a few stonesa good idea if you are protecting sheep from predators; a bad idea if you are fighting a giant! But the size of the stones had nothing to do with Davids success against Goliath. Davids real strength came from his relationship with God. God knew that. David knew that. Goliath and the Philistines didnt have confidence in God, they taunted him. Therein lies the real story. The battle isnt a battle between a boy and a giant, but God-focus versus self-focus. Goliath thought he couldnt be beat. And he was right.... at least from the worlds perspective.

RETHINK: Your Goliath comes in different shapes and sizes. To the casual observer, it looks as if you cant win. Your giant taunts you publicly and you are left to gather rocks. Though the situation looks hopeless, you know better. The giant is too big and you are too weak. But you have a secret weapona power not understood by casual observers.

In what areas of life are you most taunted by giants?

unemployment

abandonment

sexual abuse

depression

finances

morality

education

other: __________________

Just the mention of your giant has an emotional effect on you. Your giant elicits anxiety, shame, confusion, or anger. He might not stand in the Valley of Elah, but he calls to you at the most inopportune times. In Davids day, the focus always had been on the giant; but Davids strategy was different.

Think about the giants that concern you most.

How does the average day begin for you?

I think about the giants <-> I think about God

This wasnt the first time the Israelites had been dogged by the Philistines. History taught the Israelites that the Philistines would win, so going into battle against them was futile. Maybe you suffer with the same problemyou arent the first person in your family to face this enemy and history doesnt give you much hope for winning the battle.

David knew that Israel would keep getting what it was getting if it kept doing what it was doing. The nation was paralyzed because it focused on the enemy. David was empowered because he refused to tip his cap to the enemy; his focus was on God.