Faith in the Face of Giants

Do you remember the story from Numbers, the story of Moses sending the 12 spies into Canaan, into the Promised Land?

All 12 went into the Promised Land and all 12 laid witness to the land’s productivity.  They saw a land flowing with milk and honey.  However, they also saw Canaan’s fortified walls and its inhabitants, the ancestors of Anak, men who were quite literally, giants.

All 12 of these spies returned to Moses having seen and experienced the exact same circumstances in Canaan.  However, out of the 12, only two, Joshua and Samuel, continued to trust in God's promises.

You see, God had promised the Israelites this land of Canaan, this land flowing with milk and honey.  He’d delivered them out of slavery in Egypt and parted the Red Sea. He had brought them through years in the desert and provided manna for them daily.  God had cared for them and repeatedly shown His faithfulness in spite of their waywardness.

Yet, only two of the 12 spies, when faced with opposition, when faced with fortified walls and giants, trusted God.

We shared this story of faith in the face of giants with our Bible study group this past week.  As we studied God’s word, I could not help but wonder - which one am I?

When faced with trials or difficult conditions in my own life and ministry here in Didinga, do I trust in God’s faithfulness, do I intentionally seek to see His daily gifts of provision, His consistent manna, or do I doubt in His goodness?

Sadly, I am confronted with the stark reality that I am often more like the 10, than the two.

I doubt God. 

I dwell on past disappointments, grumble about my daily gifts and forget that I have God the Father, God the Creator, God the Almighty on my side.

For you see, these ministry frustrations, the repeated disappointments, the lies and the corruption that we so often are confronted with, well all of these “giants” have already been defeated by our mighty God in heaven.

For it is not my battle, but His.  Though I am weak, He is strong. 

He never loses.

May we all have the faith of Joshua and Samuel when daily facing our "giants”.