There Are Giants in Our Land!

"THERE ARE GIANTS IN THE LAND!! Really , there are !"

In the movie, "Facing the Giants", the coach was having problems winning games. So, he decided on a new philosophy. He would praise God no matter what. He tells his players to give their best and he motivates them to believe that God would help them win. In the end, of course, they defeat the other team called the Giants.

People in the Old Testament faced giants; real giants. God had promised the Israelites the land of Canaan. But, in Canaan, there lived wicked giants. God promised He would go before them and destroy the giants.

“Now be on your way. Gather the leaders of Israel. Tell them, ‘God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I’ve looked into what’s being done to you in Egypt, and I’ve determined to get you out of the affliction of Egypt and take you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, a land brimming over with milk and honey.”’ Exodus 3:16-17 The Message

What did these people do? They complained; they whined; they were angry even though God hadn't promised their trip would be without hardship only that it would be worth it in the end. Finally, God had enough and they got to wander around the desert for forty years. You might want to read the story for yourself...it's interesting.

Are the Israelites different from us? Do we complain, whine and get angry when things don't go smoothly? Are there giants in our pathway? Yes, there are but God has promised us, just like He promised the Israelites, that He would go before them and destroy the giants.

What are some of the giants that are keeping you from trusting God completely with every aspect of your life? Are the giants of fear, worry or defeat, etc. rearing their ugly heads?

The story is told of a mother who came home from shopping to find five of her children sitting quietly in a circle. When she looked inside the circle she saw they had five young skunks they had found outside. Without thinking, she yelled, “run children, run!” They did, but not before each child grabbed a skunk to take with them. We are often like those children. When faced with the giants of life, we panic and make a mess out of things. We want to drag our giants with us; whining and complaining all the way, instead of allowing God to defeat them.

A Pastor once said of Christians, "They want to circle the wagons at the church building and hold off the devil until Jesus comes back. That is not God’s plan!" We have gotten so comfortable in our lives; so use to the giants of fear and worry, etc., we don't want to follow God's leading and defeat those giants with His help. God has plans for each of us. He hasn't promised there won't be difficulties as we travel our respective paths, but He has promised He will go before us and defeat our giants.

"Since we have such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us. Keep your eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards; and now he sits in the place of honor by the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2 (TLB)

Are you willing to acknowledge there are giants in your life and allow God to defeat them?