Mom Heart Moments #161

The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.

AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, there have been giants in my life. All stand before me threatening my stability and security, and all seem greater than my ability to conquer them. A giant is a picture of those obstacles or issues that come into our lives and tempt us to live in fear or cause us to wonder whether God has left us.

My giants are of differing sizes and threats: financial need, fears of how a child will turn out, marriage stresses and pressures or misunderstandings, deep loneliness, medical problems, relationship issues, weariness, and often fear of the future.

The story of the negative report brought back by the spies Moses sent out is such a picture of what happens when we see giants and don’t face them with God’s strength. We become as grasshoppers in our hearts; we become small-minded, fearful, and ineffective. God gives us over to our faithlessness and we end up “wandering in the wilderness.”

In Scripture, giants gave people a great opportunity to glorify God —to see His faithfulness, to believe in His goodness, and to conquer. I think it’s the same today. We really can’t walk with God and hold on to fear and disbelief at the same time! Our heart has only enough room for one or the other. Sometimes we say, “I feel like God is far off and doesn’t even hear my prayers,” when in actuality we have left His presence and companionship by disbelieving in the midst of our fears.

Caleb and Joshua saw the situation differently than the other spies. They saw the giants, but they saw God and His strength more clearly. They believed He would conquer and lead them in victory. Because of their faith, they were the only men who survived the forty years of wandering in the desert and were allowed to enter the Promised Land.

Which looms largest in your life —your giant or your God?