Reflective Essay: Facing the Giants Movie

Facing the Giants is a 2006 American drama-sports movie directed by and starring Alex

Kendrick. It is a movie about a losing coach together with his underdog football team who were

able to overcome their fears and failures through believing themselves and in the power of God,

which afterward results in an amazing ending for all of them.

This movie proves how beautiful things can happen to us when we start facing our fears

with determination and faith not just to ourselves but most importantly to God. The start of the

movie shows the chaotic life of the main character, Grant. He has personal problems, and it

affects how he handles his football team which depends on him. Many of us are like Grant, we

tend to mix our personal problems with our professional lives. We often forget that the things

that burden us should not burden the people around us. Things can get more complicated if we

let our emotions and problems defeat us. We should think of ways how we can solve these issues

and we can start by asking God to help us survive the difficult situation we are in.

I can say that believing in yourself is one of the hardest things to do. We doubt ourselves

because we have this fear that we cannot fulfill the expectations of others and we might end up

as a failure. But because of this movie, I realized that failure is a part of life, and being a failure

in times does not mean that you are a failure for life. Therefore, we should not fear failure

because it is what will make us grow and will motivate us to do better. Do not be afraid to step

out of your comfort zone. You won’t be able to discover the things that you could do if you

always chose to hide behind the door of your fears. Just like what David (one of the football

players) did before

the end of the game, even though he doubted himself at first a lot of times, he listened to his

coach and kick the ball that made them win the game. It may be impossible at times but when

you chose to believe in yourself and in the things you can do, that is when the impossible

becomes possible.

Another realization that hits me while watching this movie is that even a single prayer to

God with sincerity is so much powerful that it can make a miracle. Grant and his wife Brooke

had trouble having a child at first but in the end, God still blessed them with beautiful gifts that

they hoped for a long time, their children. This is my favorite part of the movie. It made me

believe that when you pray for something and it is meant for you, you do not have to worry

because it will come in your way at the most unexpected yet perfect timing of your life. It is true

that with God, there is nothing impossible. We must believe in his plans because the best plan is

still the one that he made for us.

Lastly, there is a part in the movie where the people who did not believe in him (Grant)

end up praising him, and that is the reality. People around you will only appreciate you when you

do good, but when you are struggling in life, they look at you as a failure and a mess who should

not be trusted. The best thing to make them believe in you is to show them what you can do.

Sometimes, you just have to prove yourself not because you need validation from others but

because you must realize that you are not a failure as they say, but a brave one who can show the

world how amazing of a person you are.

Honestly, I did not expect that I would love this movie and would get lots of lesson from

it. I thought it was just a movie about sports but little did I know, there are underlying

realizations that I can get from this wonderful story. They say experience is the best teacher, but

for me, our own experience is not the only best teacher that we can have; also, other people’s

experiences can teach us the lessons that we need to know in our lives.