Facing the Giants

 

In Number 13 we read the story of the Israelites as they approach the Promised Land. They had fled slavery in Egypt, crossed an expansive desert and were about to enter a land “flowing with milk and honey.”

To prepare for the invasion, the leaders of the Israelites sent spies into this new land and got a very mixed report. The spies confirmed the Promised Land was in fact filled with abundance: rich farmland produced plentiful food and opportunity. But most of the spies were primarily focused on the inhabitants of the new territory: they were giants!

So terrified were they of the obstacles in the Promised Land, the Israelites longed for the slavery back in Egypt over the challenges of the territory in front of them. In fact, they even concluded it would have been better to die in the bondage they had left behind than to risk battling the giants to secure the potential freedom and blessing that lay ahead. So, they made a plan to return to their chains in Egypt.

Are we very different today? When faced with the uncertainty of the future, it is so easy to focus on the obstacles and challenges and miss the opportunity and blessing. Sometimes all we can see are the hurdles that might impede the blessing and cause us to overlook or even ignore the abundance. We choose to return to the bondage that we know rather than face the unknown with liberty.

Note that the giants of the land were not merely obstacles to moving into the Promised Land, blocking their entry, but they were complications amid the abundance of the land. The blessings were mixed with significant challenges to overcome.

So it is with us now. We still have Promised Lands before us. And they still have significant barriers to entry and challenges within. But God has never promised us a comfortable, care-free journey without challenges. He does not guarantee us pleasure and a pain-free path. He does, however, promise us abundant blessings and a rich journey through life. But first, we must face the giants.