Bears Before Giants: Dreaming Big and Starting Small

Often, we find ourselves daydreaming about facing giants—taking on massive, life-altering challenges—without ever stepping into the ring. One of my core convictions is that most of us could benefit from a little more ambition. A little more courage to imagine a future that's bigger than our current reality. A year from now, five years down the road—what could life look like if we dared to believe?

This is something I want to instill in my kids: that they can do scary things. That they can dream big and believe in themselves. It might sound cliché, but there's a reason these phrases stick around. Because at their core is an invitation—to step into something new. And maybe, just maybe, to stumble into a calling or a passion we hadn’t yet discovered.

The Problem Isn’t Potential, It’s Commitment

But here’s the tension. The thing that holds us back usually isn’t a lack of potential. It’s a lack of commitment to the very first step. Dreaming is easy. But accomplishing something significant? That requires a long string of small, faithful steps in the same direction.

This theme shows up powerfully in the scriptures. I was preaching recently on the story of David and Goliath—about as archetypal a tale of oversized ambition as you can get. And yet, tucked into the narrative are moments that ground David’s courage in something deeper than mere confidence.

David's Preparation Off the Page

When David volunteers to face Goliath, Saul is understandably skeptical. This is a teenager with a harp, not a sword. But David doesn’t just rely on blind faith. He recalls his experience:

"Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep, I went after it. I struck it and rescued the sheep. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it."

David isn’t pretending that this moment with Goliath is just another day in the pasture. But he is saying that his courage has been forged over time—in moments no one saw, in places no one celebrated.

And look, I get it. Fighting a bear is still a bit out there. Most of us are probably overestimating our own bear-wrestling abilities. But that’s kind of the point. The story isn’t asking us to literally go find a bear. It’s inviting us to notice the ways we’ve already been preparing, often without even realizing it.

Ambition Anchored in Experience

So should you dream big? Yes. Should you believe in yourself? Absolutely. Should you try scary things? Without a doubt.

But don’t forget: every great leap starts with a grounded step. If you want to write a book, start a blog. If you want a new job, start a course in your spare time. If you want to get in shape, go for a walk—every day until it feels easy. Then start to run.

We should believe in the possibility of big things for ourselves. But like David, our giant moments are almost always preceded by our bear moments. Quiet, hidden, formative experiences that prepare us for whatever comes next.

Final Thoughts

David's big moment doesn’t begin in the valley. It begins years earlier, off the page, in ordinary fields, in mundane stories no one thought worth recording.

Chances are, that’s where your story starts too.

Bears come before giants.