by Bob Russell, ©2023
(Aug. 5, 2023) — A few weeks ago I saw a movie called “Facing The Giants.” It is a very inspiring movie about a football coach at a small Christian school in Georgia. The movie was written and produced by brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick and shows how a life can be changed when people put their trust in Jesus Christ.
In the movie the coach, Grant Taylor, played by Alex Kendrick, has had six consecutive seasons without a winning record, a car that dies at bad times and won’t start once it dies, four years of trying to conceive a child without success, and a salary that is well below providing any improvement in his transportation situation. Nothing in Taylor’s life shows any possibility of success. The situation is so bad that when he overhears a meeting of fathers who want him replaced as coach, the despair he is feeling becomes even more overwhelming.
Then one day he has a conversation with a man who walks the school halls every day praying over each student as he comes to their locker. The team starts a new season by losing three games against what should be weaker teams, at which point Taylor makes the decision to turn to God in his despair. He takes the advice of Mr. Bridges and dedicates his life, football team, and career to God and leading his team by example. Taylor takes the message to his team, dedicating their season to God. He tells the team that they should praise God when they win and praise Him when they lose.
His example to the team is so profound that players change their attitudes toward their schoolwork, their parents and teammates. One player is so moved that he goes to his father and apologizes for being so disrespectful. That father, a wealthy construction company owner, buys Taylor a brand-new pickup truck and the team goes on a winning streak that gets them to the state playoffs where they lose their first playoff game. After the game the team kneels in the locker room and thanks God for getting them that far. They praised God even though they thought their Cinderella season had ended. It is later revealed that the other team used ineligible players and were disqualified, putting Taylor’s team back in the run. They eventually come up against a team with three times as many players who are bigger, stronger, faster, and better than they are.
The team gets to the final game, facing the Richland Giants, which has won three state championships in a row and is widely expected to rout Taylor’s team. Just before the championship game Taylor’s wife prays asking for a baby and tells God that she will still love and honor Him if the answer is no. As it turns out Taylor’s leadership and the players’ attitude of honoring God leads them to a 24-23 win. Taylor got a $6,000 a year raise, and his wife conceives twice. The movie ends with his pregnant wife watching him play with their toddler.
I liked the movie so much I asked my wife to see if she could find out how to purchase it for our home. She looked and found out we could buy it for $15 or buy a package of six Kendrick Brothers movies for $30. We opted for the six-movie package. The other movies are just as inspiring.
“Courageous” is about county sheriff deputies and a hard-luck construction worker who band together and sign a resolution to honor God and be the fathers He intends for them to be. The construction worker is given a job in a factory where he is offered a promotion if he will falsify a report. After talking to his wife and praying for guidance he tells the company owner he can’t do as asked and lie on the report, expecting to be fired for refusing to “be a team player.” As it turns out the request was a test by the owner who was looking for a man with the integrity to do the right thing in spite of the possibility of losing a job. The owner had made the same offer to six other employees before finding the man he could trust. Javier, the construction worker who had been laid off a couple of times, was promoted to manager of Shipping & Receiving and given a raise. God will honor honesty and integrity, especially when it comes as obedience to His rules of conduct in spite of perceived punishment from those asking a person to act dishonestly.
The other movies are “Flywheel” which is about a used car salesman who goes from shyster to honest man and finds his life and business prospering after he puts them in God’s hands. “Fireproof” is about a fireman whose marriage is going up in smoke until he gives his life to Jesus. “War Room” is about a real estate agent whose marriage is going downhill fast until she meets an elderly woman who teaches her how to trust God and fight a spiritual war for her family. “Overcomer” is about a basketball coach who loses his team and is assigned to coach a track team with only one runner, a 15-year-old girl who suffers from asthma. The girl finds out her father isn’t dead as her grandmother had told her and through faith the coach leads the girl to God and a state championship in a cross-country race and a relationship with the dying father she never knew.
I have watched each of these movies several times in the last couple of weeks and highly recommend the entire package to everyone. I have found a renewed faith and ability to trust God in my health and financial situations, neither of which looks very good right now. I had a severe stroke nine years ago that has left my left arm paralyzed and my left leg seriously diminished. I hobble around with a severe limp and can stand for only a short time and walk only short distances. I have had three dreams of total recovery and believe with every fiber in me that God is going to restore me fully at a time of His choosing. I use what ability I have to serve others and constantly tell others of my belief that restoration is coming at some time. Occasionally someone will raise an eyebrow or express doubt, but I don’t waver and won’t because I know God can restore me and have no doubt that He will, the only question being “when.” My finances are bad partly because of unwise decisions by me and partly because of political policy decisions I have no control over, but we give from our need to believe that somewhere down the line God will “open the windows of Heaven and bless our faith.”
I have found that obeying God’s rules and serving Him by serving others brings a comfort and peace of mind I had never experienced before giving my life to Jesus several years ago. I don’t like my current physical and financial predicaments but I trust that God will turn things around for me if I will trust in Him with every part of me.
I submit this in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, in faith, with the responsibility given to me by Almighty God to honor His work and not let it die from neglect.