Too Big

Have you ever felt like you didn’t have what it took to accomplish a job? Like the burdens of your day were too much for you to handle? Like you were under qualified for a task? This is a scary thing for many people. When we don’t feel confident for the task at hand it’s as if we’re wearing someone else’s armor.

In the movie Men of Honor a young diver goes through intense pressure to become a Naval Diving Officer. After an accident, he loses his leg and needs a prosthetic to allow him to walk. After a period of recovery, he attempts to finish his officer training only to find out that the regulations have changed and the armor is now heavier. The climax of the movie comes when he is called to walk 12 steps carrying this new armor’s weight using his prosthetic limb. 

I believe that our lives at times are a lot like this young diver. We get so far in life and build a wealth of accomplishments to our names, and then the world comes crashing in. After going through a period of recovery and finding our new footing in life, we’re blindsided to find out that the rules of the game are changed. They’re more difficult than before. The weight is just too heavy.

There’s a story like this in the bible too. It’s about a young man named David. A young shepherd boy stepping up to fight a giant of a man. This man was stronger than anyone David had ever seen before, and he was threatening the army of David’s older brothers.

This enemy was taunting the army to send their best man to fight him, but honestly no one wanted to go. He was just too big and scary. But as David looked at this giant, he realized that this man was exactly that – a man. He might be larger than life but he was still a normal man. So little David volunteered to fight. No one thought he would make it but since there wasn’t anyone else willing to step up to this certain death, they let him do it. But before they released him to fight they wanted to arm him appropriately.

The problem was – in an effort to prepare young David for battle, they clothed him with a grown man’s armor. It was too heavy. He couldn’t even move, let alone fight against this crazy big man.

Sometimes our lives are a lot like David and his battle with the giant. We face trials and struggles everyday that we are not big enough to fight. We weigh ourselves down with the most modern armor only to find that we’re not strong enough to handle it long-term. We can only go a few steps before collapsing under its pressure and weight. This armor comes in the form of rules and traditions. It comes through well-meaning men and women who make our lives harder than they have to be.

Jesus taught in the New Testament that we are to come to him and take up a light weight armor. He promises that his burden is light and the weight is manageable. We’re to come to him when we’re weary and burdened by the weights of this world and find rest in him. Let him carry us for a while. If you’re floundering in life and the weight is too heavy, it’s time to let the armor go and rest under the arms of Jesus. He’s more than capable of carrying the weight that we can’t.