Facing Giants
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Numbers 13:32-33
When we go the scene prior to this in the story, you find that the men reported that the land did indeed flow with milk and honey, in fact they said, “Here is the fruit.” And yet, the evidence of fruit did not deter them from worshipping an idol of defeat in their own mind based upon the size of the enemy. An idol is anything that gets placed as more significant than God. In this case, idolatry equated to the fact that they were putting the size of their enemy before the size of God. When we keep reading we find that the people rebelled, they discussed who they would chose as their leader to lead them back to slavery; and they contemplated stoning Moses and Aaron. It was a rough day at the office for Moses and Aaron. They did the only thing they could do in that moment: they fell facedown before the people in the Name of God, attempting to convince them that God is bigger than the giants they faced.
The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into the land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
Numbers14:7-9
This story rattled me to reality one morning when I was contemplating shrinking back in fear rather than pressing on in faith regarding a particular “giant.” God reminded me that I will continually face giants because I live by faith. The more faith I receive from each act of obedience prepares me for the next giant. Therefore, I decided to look at the present giant as a training session from God. I decided to obediently show up and watch God slay my enemy because I believed that He would.
The Warrior Mom Ministry was founded by Kristina Seymour, author of The Warrior Mom Handbook – Equipping Women through the Word, a Bible study for moms who desire to live by faith in the midst of their everyday lives. Kristina has learned that moms can't survive on caffeine and animal crackers alone; women in the Word and in community are united and able to stand firm. To learn more about The Warrior Mom Handbook, the Warrior Mom Ministry, and to sign up for daily encouragement, visit Kristina's blog.
Originally published Tuesday, 14 April 2015.
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