Max Lucado Details the Life of David in Facing Your Giants

Facing Your Giants is one of the newest books from best-selling Christian author Max Lucado. Published by Word Publishing in 2006, the inside title page describes the book like this: "A David and Goliath Story for Every Day People." Almost everyone (non-Christians included) is familiar with the story of David and Goliath, and so a book about such a well-known character is appealing.

This book is written in Max's usual style of a combination of Scripture, insights, and illustrations. Anyone could read this book and get something out of it-from someone who has never read the Bible before, to a scholar. I have a good amount of Bible training, and I was able to learn truths from reading Facing Your Giants.

The book is divided into nineteen chapters with a study guide at the back (which includes extra Bible passages to read and thought-provoking questions). Each chapter covers a different aspect of David's life that can relate to our lives today. The "Grief Givers" chapter describes how David gave grace to Saul even though Saul was out to get him. The chapter entitled "Unspeakable Grief" gives us a new perspective on how David faced death (and how we can, too).

My favorite chapter was called "Tough Promises." This chapter deals with how David showed kindness to Mephibosheth (a descendant of Jonathon) for Jonathon's sake (because he had made a promise to Jonathon). Mephibosheth was a cripple, a nobody, someone we would find totally unlovable, yet David let him eat at his table and provided for him in tremendous ways. Something I never realized was that Mephibosheth even participated in Absalom's rebellion against David, yet still was invited back to David's good graces-because David was serious about keeping a promise. It really gave me a lot to ponder.

Facing Your Giants is wonderful to use as a devotional when you combine the chapters with the study guide and suggested Scripture reading in the back of the book. I found myself anticipating Bible study to learn more about the life of David. This book really shows how David was human like we are. He had his "up" days and "down" days, and he struggled with sins and fears. He also had his moments of great victory-so can we!

The study guide also contains "Battle Lines" which encourage us to go beyond where we currently are in our Christian lives. They lay out very specific challenges that we can try to meet. This is great for applying the lessons of David's life to our lives.

Facing Your Giants sells for approximately $11-20, depending on where you purchase it. It is a hard-back book with a dust jacket. It is definitely a volume you will want to keep around for your library.