Rich Dixon is thinking about giants.

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January is the month we focus on raising awareness about the horrible crime of human trafficking.

Last weekend, Timberline Church hosted a remarkable speaker. Ruth Dearnley leads STOP THE TRAFFIK, an organization dedicated to gathering data to aid law enforcement and others in the fight against this global scourge.

Ruth drew from the story of David and Goliath to talk about confronting the modern giant of trafficking organizations. She’s an amazing speaker. (Skip to the 26-minute mark to hear the beginning of her remarks.)

It’s easy to misinterpret the story of David & Goliath as an impetuous boy who jumped into a battle and got lucky. But David knew he’d already confronted giants. As a young shepherd boy, he saved his sheep from ferocious lions and bears. God had prepared him for this moment. Just as David trusted God when he confronted lions and bears, he believed God wouldn’t let him down in his battle with Goliath.

I am, of course, all in favor of confronting the giant of human trafficking. Not just in January, but all throughout the year. I firmly believe each of us has a role to play, and we’ve each been prepared. If each one does what we can with courage – trusting Jesus for the outcome – this awful giant can be overcome.

But – each of us confronts our own giants in life. Maybe it’s a catastrophic injury, or illness, or death of someone we love. And it sounds trite to say “just step into battle as David did.”

That’s not how it works.

HOPE is how it works.

Faith that God keeps his promises, that he won’t let you down even when the giant seems impossibly large.

Currently, many of us feel as if we face a giant as our neighbors encounter unnecessary violence. I think a lot about what to do.