FA Cup final: Facing our giants

As the FA Cup final kicks off, Lieutenant Luke Furlong reminds us that God is bigger than any opposition.

Today, Crystal Palace will face off against Manchester City under the Wembley Arch in the 144th FA Cup final. The competition’s finale is one of the oldest and most prestigious events in the football calendar, with the winner set to receive the famous trophy and a ticket to compete in next season’s UEFA Europa League.

The road to the final is a long one! Beginning with a preliminary round involving 653 non-league clubs from the fifth to ninth tiers of English football, these teams compete for 32 coveted spots in the first round. Once the competition gets under way, these 32 non-league clubs are joined by the 48 clubs from League One and League Two. Then, 24 teams from the Championship and 20 teams from the Premier League drop in for the third round.

There’s something special about the FA Cup. It’s a tournament like no other and, from time to time, serves up some real David vs Goliath moments. It’s a competition where part-time amateurs who hold down day jobs as plumbers, builders, shop workers or teachers take to the pitch against the multi-million-pound elite of the Premier League, in the hopes of pulling off an infamous ‘giant killing’ and writing their names into the football history books.

While it would be unfair to call Crystal Palace a footballing minnow, there is no escaping the fact that, on paper at least, they’re the underdogs in this year’s final, compared to the footballing giant that is Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

In 1 Samuel 17, we read of the young David’s face-off with the giant Goliath. Scripture reminds us how David placed his complete trust in the God who called and anointed him, rather than in his own power and earthly strength.

Despite defeating Goliath, David continued to face other ‘giants’ throughout his life, and yet he knew that God was with him and so proclaimed: ‘The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Saviour. My God is my rock. I can run to him for safety. He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender’ (Psalm 18:2 New Century Version).

Although we may never step onto the turf at Wembley, there are giants that each of us face in our own day-to-day lives. These giants might be long-term physical or mental health concerns, employment worries, financial stress, relationship challenges, to name but a few. As someone who lives with a stammer, there are some days when this giant seems far too big. It’s in these moments we need to remember that, however big our giants may seem, God is so much bigger!

And so, as this year’s FA Cup reaches its conclusion – and Crystal Palace fans hope for their own giant killing – may each of us, like the young David, stand firm in the knowledge that, because of Jesus, the victory has already been won!

• Lieutenant Luke is the club chaplain at Newport IOW Football Club.

Reflect and respond

• Reflect on Psalm 18. What encouragement can you take from it into the week ahead?
• Listen to ‘Every Giant Will Fall’ by Rend Collective or reflect on the lyrics:
  Every giant will fall, the mountains will move,
  Every chain of the past, you’ve broken in two.
  Over fear, over lies, we’re singing the truth,
  That nothing is impossible with you.
• What are the giants in your life you need to give over to God?