Destiny Christian Magazine, Volume 1/Issue 2

Giants Do Fall

Dedicated to 

I've been bullied—I know what it feels like to constantly be told you aren't good enough, you aren't equal, and you're worthless. It hurts. Even if you know what they tell you isn't true, there's always a small part of you that wonders if they're right. If you are so different that you don't belong, and you shouldn't even try.

I've been homeschooled for the majority of my life, but my mom decided that in fourth grade, my sister and I would go to P.E. class at our local public school. I was excited. I had never been to school before. It was going to be a whole new experience.

I've always been shy and mature for my age. My sister is extroverted, and makes friends on the spot wherever she goes. It turned out that my former friend from when I played basketball as a kindergartner was in the P.E. class, and I was thrilled! It would make the transition so much easier, and I could skip the awkward making-new-friends stage. But it turned out, my former friend—let's call her P—was the popular kid, and I was the new kid. Despite the fact she used to be one of my closest friends, she decided I was below her and the rest of the other kids in the grade.

But what about my sister? Was she teased? After all, she was new too. Fortunately for her, her spunky, likeable attitude saved her from the bullying, and she quickly made new friends. This did nothing to help me, though—was I really that weird? Was there something about me other than that I was new that made my close friend want to bully me?

Alone, as most the other kids shunned me since I wasn't cool enough for their leader, I sought refuge with the other two kids who were teased—a pair of besties who always hung to the side. I asked if I could be their friend, as we were the three who were bullied by P. What did they say? No. I could not be their friend. They didn't want their twosome to be ruined by the new girl.

I cried a lot that year. I felt worthless. My mom told me that what P and the other kids told me wasn't true, and my family was super supportive of me, but it wasn't enough. I had to finish out the year, and when it was finally over, I swore never to go to another class like that at a public school again.

While P's betrayal hurt me terribly, something could have been my salvation. The two girls who were also bullied could have befriended me, but instead they shunned me like the rest of the kids. All because they had their clique, and I didn't belong in it. If you have the opportunity to befriend someone who has few or no friends, or is bullied by the popular kids in your grade, don't pass it up. You could be the difference between life and death—and that's not an exaggeration. While I never thought of taking my own life, many other teenagers do every single day. Maybe you could be what makes them decide to live.

Would you like to know what—or who—got me through that hard year of my life? It was God. I prayed, and He told me I wasn't worthless. I was priceless. His love for me got me through the pain and loneliness.

That year didn't last forever, and neither will yours. Remember that even if no one in your life seems to care about you, someone does, and that someone is Jesus Christ. He was bullied for our sake—the Pharisees constantly tried to make a fool of him. Think of his childhood and teen years! Jesus had several brothers. Do you think that with His perfect attitude and actions He was never teased or bullied? I think our Savior would have been the perfect candidate for bullying. He was so smart at the age of twelve He was able to teach highly educated men about the Bible—a nerd if I ever saw one! In addition to this, He was perfect, and was probably compared to His brothers when they misbehaved.

Jesus' bullying got so terrible He died because of the Pharisees' hate for Him, but Jesus still loved them, and would have still saved them if they had repented. Now that's a love I can't claim—saving someone who hung me on a tree? Who killed me? I can barely even think of befriending P after what she did to me.

So don't lose hope. Don't give up. Because giants do fall, and the Person who can help you defeat the giant in your life is none other than the Creator of the Universe Himself, and He loves you more than you or I will ever know.

Psalm 56

Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;

all day long an attacker oppresses me;

my enemies trample on me all day long,

for many attack me proudly.

When I am afraid,

I put my trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

What can flesh do to me?

All day long they injure my cause;

all their thoughts are against me for evil.

They stir up strife, they lurk;

they watch my steps,

as they have waited for my life.

For their crime will they escape?

In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in your bottle.

Are they not in your book?

Then my enemies will turn back

in the day when I call.

This I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,

in the LORD, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

I must perform my vows to you, O God;

I will render thank offerings to you.

For you have delivered my soul from death,

yes, my feet from falling,

that I may walk before God

in the light of life.