There was a “giant” in my back yard this week. My dog saw it and refused to go outside.
Just what was this “giant?”
Pouring, drenching, unending rain that fell all week!
As I pushing my dog to go out in the rain, I began to think about giants, these horribly big things in life that can so easily overcome us. That’s when God laid the story of the first Israeli spies on my heart.
When Israel arrived at the border to the Promised Land, God told Moses to send in a group of 12 spies to check out the land. 40 days later, they returned with their reports, but unfortunately, the reports were not so good: “…the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there…” (Num 13:28-29, NKJV).
For anyone unfamiliar with the name “Anak,” Anak was a giant, and his descendants all took after him! In other words, when the spies looked out over the land, they saw–Giants! Not just “driving rain giants,” but real, flesh and blood giants!
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I would want to live among giants, and neither did Israel: “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we…The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants…and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight…” (Num 13:31-33, NKJV)
As a result the people rebelled, begging God to send them back to Egypt–back to slavery!–rather than to enter into this land of “giants.”
Have there been any “giants” in our lives this week, friends? “Giants” such as pain? Fear? Fatigue? Illness? Unknowns? What about the “giants” of relationship problems? Financial difficulties? Lack of food, water, shelter or medical help? Is there the “giant” of heartache and fear? Did we look out over the future and, like Israel of old, did we see it as a “land that devours its inhabitants?”
Let’s remember one thing: God knew the giants were in the land of Israel when He promised it to the people. He had a plan for those giants, for in the words of Caleb and Joshua, “Do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us.” (Num 14:9, NIV2)
When God foresaw whatever it is that we will face in our futures, He also foresaw the “giants.” Let’s remember that if the people of Israel had only put their trust in God, He would have overcome those giants; and in the same way, when we put our trust in His unfailing love, strength, peace, hope and grace, He will overcome our giants as well, for the Lord is with us!
What do we need to do to not be overcome with fear in the face of our “giants?”
The answer comes from Hebrews: “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed–that exhilarating finish in and with God–he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Heb 12:2-3, MSG)
Let’s agree together, friends, to keep our eyes upon Jesus, for only when we do will we succeed in not being overcome by our “giants!”
Have a blessed week.
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.