Giants! They’re everywhere! Have you encountered any in your neighborhood?

Wish you could’ve seen the two ogres that hurled me to the ground, knocking all hope right out of me. One pinned me down—his name was Doubt—while his buddy, Unbelief, pummeled me and a cluster of their wicked brothers (Fear, Worry, Discouragement, and Despair), smiled and cheered. Satisfied, they linked arms then hobbled away, leaving me for dead.

They didn’t count on my resilience. They didn’t know about my secret resources.

Have those intimating brutes harassed you lately?

Although I’ve never brawled a real giant, emotional giants stalk and badger my every step. Relentless, they are. Determined to sidetrack me from the path I’m certain God chose for me. Not long ago, they launched a surprise attack to convince me nothing God promised would actually happen…that no sensible person would keep on believing.

Resilience—a gift from our Creator—lifted me to my feet and hurried me on to my secret resources, the promises of God. I stopped here first.

“The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand…For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:24, 27).

The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand…For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and… Click To Tweet

Next stop: “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Then here. “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53).

Twelve legions of angels…enough to squash an army of giants.

I remembered how close the Israelites came to taking possession of the land of Canaan, the inheritance God had promised them. Moses sent twelve men to spy out the region and report back. They found it was indeed a land flowing with milk and honey, as God had said. But the inhabitants were giants, strong and fearsome.

They said, “we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:33). All the congregation murmured against Moses and his brother Aaron. Why would the Lord bring us here to die by the sword? It would be better to return to Egypt. (Did they forget that in Egypt they lived in bondage?)

Joshua and Caleb tried to abort the ground-swell of negative opinion. “If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones” (Numbers 14:8-9).

Long story short, the Israelites, for their disobedience, spent forty years wandering in the wilderness before God fulfilled his word and led them into the land of promise.

Has God given you a personal promise for your life? Looking back, you had high hopes. But the journey took unexpected turns. That’s when you began noticing the giants, powerful, and menacing. Their formidable size and their incessant chatter almost persuaded you to give up. “No sensible person would keep on believing.”

Has God given you a personal promise for your life? Looking back, you had high hopes. But the journey took unexpected turns. That’s when you began noticing the giants, powerful, and menacing. Their formidable size and their… Click To Tweet

The giants didn’t count on your resilience. They don’t know about your secret resources. Run to Jesus and grab hold of his promises! He planned your path and he hasn’t changed direction. Who knows how close you might be to seeing your God-given dream fulfilled?

Trust the Lord to battle the giants and move forward in faith, like Abraham. “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform” (Romans 4:20-21).

I’d love to know how God brought you through a giant-sized challenge and refreshed your faith. And I’d be so grateful if you would share this article with your friends.

© Dianne Barker 2021