There Might Be Giants

“Then they told him and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless, the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities cities are fortified and very large; moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

~Numbers 14:27-33

It took a very long time and a lot of patience for Moses to lead the Children of Israel to the promised land. They whined and complained every step of the way, turned against God, disobeyed Moses’ instructions, and generally created havoc even after seeing great miracles along the way. First, they were rescued from 400 years of Egyptian slavery, then they witnessed the parting of the Red Sea, and saw God’s protection when He covered them with a cloud during the day and led the way with a pillar of fire at night. He provided manna for them every day, allowed fresh water to come from a rock, and then rained meat down on them when they complained about the manna. They had everything they needed to get to the promised land, yet it took them 40 years to walk a distance of about 350 miles. And if you figure they could walk only 10 miles a day, it’s still only a 35-day hike. After 40 years of wandering, the Israelites finally reached the Jordan River, the last obstacle to cross to the Promised Land. Yet, none of those who originally followed Moses and Aaron out of Egypt were allowed to cross into the land of milk and honey. Even those who would cross the river were scared to do so. They sent spies into the land, instead of trusting God to lead them into safety. What they saw there was large, fortified cities, food growing everywhere, fresh water, and animals grazing the land. What a difference it must’ve been from the dry, barren land they had traversed for 40 years. Still, they were afraid of the people, who were apparently much larger than the Israelites, and didn’t want to cross over into the land God promised would be theirs. They had already faced many giants in the trip across the desert, and God met them at their need every time, but facing these giants filled them with fear. During the 40 years of wandering, the Israelites also did quite a bit of procreating, and one of those descendants was Joshua, who led the children of Israel across the Jordan to face the giants of the land. It wasn’t that Joshua didn’t feel fear, it was that he trusted God to lead and guide him in his decisions.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).”

We all face giants of one kind or another in our lives; obstacles that prevent us from getting to where we want to be. It might be financial, physical, emotional, or we might just be flat out scared to take the next step. It happens to all of us. One minute everything seems to be going exactly as we planned, and the next, it’s been derailed, and we don’t know where to go next. Life will throw us curve balls when we least expect it, but it also gives us opportunities to move past the detours and get back on track. That is part of the lifelong learning curve we have with God. No matter how off-track the Israelites got, God kept patiently leading them in the direction they were supposed to go. When we trust God knows best, and we choose to follow Him, we can be assured that we will continue in the right direction even when life tosses us around.

“But I, through the abundance of Your steadfast love, will enter Your house. I will bow down toward Your holy temple in the fear of You. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before me (Psalm 5:7-8).”

Read Psalm 26-31

©2018 Marie McGaha