What are YOUR giants?

Numbers 13: 1-3, 17-20, 26-33 and 14 as reference.

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.” 3 So at the LORD’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. 17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.) 26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 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. 33 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.”

The Lord promised his people a bountiful land that was flowing with milk and honey. When the Israelites went to spy out the land, they found that not only was the land promised to them BETTER than they could have imagined, but it was occupied by large people as well. The occupants of the land frightened the Israelites so much that they saw themselves as grasshoppers in comparison. We all have promises that God has made to us or dreams that we desire to fulfill. But with every promise, success, or dream also come challenges that we are required to overcome. Many people never fulfill their dreams or receive their promises because they simply can’t or don’t face the giants that are a part of the promise.

In verses 28 and 29 the Israelites name the giants that they believe are keeping them from the land. But my question is WHO are YOUR giants?

Do you dream of buying a house, but your credit score or your savings are your giants?

Do you dream of writing a book, but your fear and uncertainty are your giants?

Do you want to lose weight, but discipline is your giant?

Do you want to start a business, but ignorance and lack of funds are your giants?

Do you dream of a college education, but your grades, time, or self-doubt are your giants?

Is your giant Forgiveness on the road to healing?

Is your giant repentance on the road to break through?

Is your giant patience on the road to wholeness?—let him finish you!!!!

Is your giant silence on the road to victory?

In the end, the Israelites let the fear of the giants keep them from receiving what was theirs all along. They refused to accept the responsibility of any work that they might have to do and they blamed their leaders for the stagnant state in which they found themselves. Because they relied on what they saw and did not trust in the promise of the Lord, they never made it to the Promised Land.

Let’s not be like the Israelites! Let’s use their example to further propel us to trust our God to overcome our giants.

Let’s Pray: “

Father, help us to face and overcome our giants, in Jesus’ Name, amen.”

Daily Confession:

Father, I thank You for making me the head and not the tail

Above only and not beneath

The lender and not the borrower

The conqueror and not the conquered

I thank You for giving me all things that pertain unto life and godliness

And for delivering my life from death and destruction

So that I shall live and not die to declare your works

I thank You that no sickness shall live in my body today

For by Your Stripes I'm healed

I confess that I will not be stressed, oppressed, or depressed

Because You're keeping me in perfect peace as my mind is stayed on Thee

I confess that there shall not be any lack in my life today

For my God shall supply all my needs according to His Riches in Glory by Christ Jesus

Thank You that all things are working together for my good

And that You always cause me to triumph

This is the day that you have made

I will rejoice and be glad in it

In Jesus, Name, amen.



Daily Prayer: “Oh, that You would bless me indeed,

and enlarge my territory,

that Your hand would be with me

and that You would keep me from evil,

that I may not cause pain!”

The Prayer of Jabez, I Chronicles 4:10