"Little Solutions for Big Problems"

1 Samuel 17:1a, 4-11, 19-23; Mark 4:35-41

Our scripture lessons for today remind us that there isn't a problem in the world big or small that we can't deal with when we put our lives into the loving and caring hands of our Lord.

Perhaps more than anything else, the story of David and Goliath and the story of the Disciples with Jesus in the boat tell us, first, that how we view our problems are really a matter of perspective. Secondly, we are told that as we deal with our problems only a little effort may be all that is needed to successfully conquer them. And, finally, we need to remember that more than anything else God is certainly available to us to help us with our problems.

For a few moments, then, I'd like us to consider the problem that faced the Israeli army when the Philistine giant, Goliath, stepped forward, as described in our Old Testament lesson for today. Certainly, Goliath was a giant as compared to the people living in David's day. He would have probably made a pretty good or at least average center for any professional basketball team. Standing between six-and-a- half to seven feet tall, and probably weighed in at about 250 pounds or more. He wore about 200 pounds of armor, and carried a spear that weighed in at around thirty pounds.

In addition to this, Goliath had had a lot of practice psyching out his opponents. With a loud voice, he stood before the Israeli army and bellowed insults at them and challenged them to send out their best warrior, telling them that if the warrior was able to kill him the army of the Philistines would leave and Israel would be declared the victor.

The problem was that there weren't any really experienced warriors in the Israelite army at that time. After all, Israel didn't really have a professional army. Being that it was and all-volunteer army, most of the Israeli soldiers really didn't want to be there and were hoping that they wouldn't have to fight. So, when Goliath came out and made his challenge, everyone just kind of stood there shaking in his boots, except one.

David, you'll remember was just a young man, not very big, but clever. He'd never been a professional warrior or fought in any wars, but since he had been a shepherd, he figured he was qualified to knock off this big ugly guy, Goliath. So, he went to the king of Israel, Saul, and volunteered to do the job.

Now, you can imagine what Saul must have thought when this puny looking, young guy, David, came up to him and volunteered. In fact, he said, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth." But David persisted, saying that since he was a shepherd, he had often had to kill lions and bears that raided his flocks.

So, Saul agreed, but not before he made David put on a heavy armor and a helmet and a coat of mail. But, it was so heavy that David could hardly walk. So, he took it off, knowing that he didn't need it anyway. All he needed was five smooth stones, a pouch to put them in, and a sling. And you know the rest of the story: David went out to meet Goliath. Goliath sneered at him and tried to psych him out, but David wouldn't listen. And then David took just one of this stones, slung it at Goliath, and the stone hit him squarely in the middle of the giant's forehead, causing the guy to fall flat on his face to the ground.

Now the fact here is that although Goliath was big, he wasn't all that big. He may have been covered from head to toe with armor, but he was still vulnerable. He may have carried a big, nasty looking spear, but the spear wasn't any match for someone who was light on his feet. He may have had a loud voice and could yell at people and make them wither, but David turned a deaf ear to his remarks. Goliath may have really looked like a big problem for the army of Israel. But David saw Goliath for what he was: not much different from most the other problems, like the bears and wolves he dealt with every day as a shepherd. Goliath was just dressed a little different, that's all.

Our own problems are often like that. Of course, all of us deal with problems every day, from the moment we get up in the morning. We deal with problems, like looking into the sock drawer and realizing that we should have done the wash the night before, or going out to the car before going to work and noticing that one of the tires is a bit low, or trying to bake cookies and running out of brown sugar in the middle of mixing the ingredients. These kind of things happen to us all the time. They're the little annoyances of life that somehow we are able to take care of without too much worry or thought. But, then when something "big" comes along, something that we think is a "real problem", we worry, kind of like those Israeli soldiers did when they were confronted by Goliath.

And sometimes we give those "big" problems much more power than they deserve. Like the soldiers in King Saul's army, we turn six and a half foot tall, muscle-bound, loud mouthed oafs into fiendish giants. If anything, the story of David and Goliath tells us to evaluate our problems realistically. Oftentimes, what may seem like a big problem may be just a little problem, but just dressed up a little different. Certainly, that was something David recognized when he looked at Goliath and realized that knocking him off wouldn't be much more difficult than dealing with a bear or a wolf.

I had a problem like that a year, or so, ago when my car got hit by a deer as I was driving up the freeway. The deer made a pretty good dent in my car's rear wheel well. And when I pulled my car over to the side of the road to take a look the car's engine stopped. And no matter what I tried, I couldn't get it re-started, again. Suddenly, I began to think that my engine had somehow been destroyed by a deer and I began to wonder if maybe I was dealing with a big problem instead of just a little one. But, as it turned out, the deputy sheriff who came by within a few minutes of the accident knew right where a little button was that, once pushed, got the fuel pump working again. Suddenly with a little evaluation and study my "big" problem became a small problem. The engine started and I was on my way to the body shop.

But, there's more that our scripture lessons tell us about our problems. Not only are we encouraged to evaluate our problems realistically and not make them any bigger than they are, the scriptures also suggest that we should only take enough tools along to deal with the problem. Anything more and we may actually be hindered in the process causing the problem to actually become worse than it is.

You'll remember that King Saul encouraged David to put on heavy armor, a helmet, and a coat of mail before he went out to fight Goliath. But, when David put all of these things on, he could hardly move. He had to take them off. He realized that if he was going to fight Goliath successfully, he would have to depend upon his strong points. And his strong points were that he was small, light on his feet, clever and able to handle a sling shot as well as any shepherd boy for miles around. While everyone, including Goliath, considered these to be weaknesses, David was able to use them to his advantage.

As we consider some of our problems, we also need to consider our strengths and God-given talents. There's and old story about a traveller who was walking along a road, one day. Weary and thirsty, he came to a small unpainted house that stood on top of a fairly steep hill. Near one side of the road was a crude signpost finger pointing to a well-worn path, and a sign that read, "Come in and have a cool drink." Following the path a short distance he found a spring of ice cold water, above which hung an old-fashioned gourd dipper. On a bench nearby was a basket of summer apples with another sign, "Help Yourself."

The man's curiosity aroused, he sought out the people who lived in the little house and asked them about the signs and the fruit. They told him that they were childless, and that their poor farm earned them only a meager living. But, because they had such an abundance of cold spring water and fruit they felt could use this to fight off the problem of loneliness. And it worked. With just cold water and a few apples many a stranger had become a friend over a multitude of years.

Our own problems can be managed like this. With a little thought, with prayer, with a thorough evaluation of our resources we may be surprised at how well prepared we actually are to handle the problems that come along in life, even the one's that look so "big."

Our Gospel lesson is a reminder of this fact. If you'll remember, the disciples of Jesus were in a boat, heading across the sea of Galilee when a storm came up. Suddenly, they were confronted by what looked like a "big" problem. The waves were getting higher than the side of the boat so that the water was coming in.

Now, in desperation some of these disciples might have been thinking that maybe they could jump out of the boat and make it to shore on their own. If they did this maybe the boat would ride a little higher in the water and those who couldn't swim would be saved. Certainly, that was one possible solution to their big problem. But, at least a couple of the disciples remembered that they had the greatest problem solver of all time right in their boat with them. So, they woke him up and all he did was tell the wind to stop blowing and the sea to cool it! And the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. Suddenly, what had seemed like a huge problem of mammoth proportions was nothing at all.

Certainly, we need to remember when ever we are faced with problems, we have the same Jesus in our boat, as well.

And this leads me to my final point: Not only do we need to keep our problems in perspective, and not only should we evaluate our resources for problem solving, but we should never forget that Jesus is always in our boat. God is always there to help.

I like the question that the disciples asked Jesus as they woke him from his sleep in the midst of the storm and wind and waves. They looked at him and said, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" What a question to ask the Savior of the world! Of course he cares. And just as he rebuked the wind and the waves in this story from the Gospel of Mark, he also rebukes the wind and the waves that may threaten us in our lives. God is willing to help us with our problems, but we have to let God. We have to have trust in God.

It seems appropriate to note that a scripture found in the Psalms is unique because of the fact that it contains the middle verse of the Bible. In other words, there are just as many verses in the Bible ahead of it, as following it. It is Psalms 118:9 and it reads, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."

Christ is there in our boat, willing to take on our problems, if we let him. But, have we asked him? Is Jesus asleep in our boat, while the water rushes in? Maybe we need to wake him up! For Jesus cares. Jesus wants to help and has power to calm the wind and the waves and bring buoyancy to our lives.

I found this little poem:

A little brown cork

Fell in the path of a whale

Who lashed it down

With his angry tail

But in spite of its blows

It quickly arose,

And floated serenely

Before his nose

Said the cork to the whale:

"You may flap and sputter and frown,

But you never, never, can keep me down;

For I'm made of the stuff

That is buoyant enough

To float instead of to drown."

Amen.