God told Moses to send twelve tribal leaders into the land of Canaan, the land He was going to give to the Israelis. Moses selected the twelve tribal leaders and sent them out with these instructions: "Go northward into the hill country of the Negeb, and see what the land is like; see also what the people are like who live there, whether they are strong or weak, many or few; and whether the land is fertile or not; and what cities there are, and whether there are many trees. Don't be afraid, and bring back some samples of the crops you see" (Numbers 13:17-20).
After forty days of exploration, they returned from their tour. They made their report to Moses, Aaron, and the people of Israel. This was their report: "We came to the land to which you sent us; surely it flows with milk and honey. This is its fruit. But the people who lived there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites lives in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan" (Numbers 13:27-29). But Caleb and Joshua was not afraid and reassured the people that the land could be conquered, but the other ten spies report was negative, saying, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them" (Numbers 13:32-33). The ten tribal leaders saw defeat, but Caleb and Joshua saw GOD.
We all know the story of David and Goliath. Goliath was a Philistine champion from Gath. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall. He wore a bronze helmet, a two-hundred pound cost of mail. He wore bronze leggings and carried a bronze javelin several inches thick, with a tip with a twenty-five pound iron spearhead. The Philistines and Israelis faced each other on opposite hills. One day Goliath stood up and shouted to the Israelis, "Do you need a whole army to settle this? I will represent the Philistines, and you choose someone to represent you, and we will settle this in a single combat! If your man is able to kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, then you must be our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel! Send me a man who will fight me" (1 Samuel 17:8-10). When Saul and the Israel's army heard this, they became frightened.
One day Jesse, David's father, sent him on a food delivery to his brothers, who was camped at the valley of Elah. He arrived at the camp just as the Israel and Philistine army stood there facing each other. David saw Goliath step out from the Philistine troops and shouted his challenge to the army of Israel. As soon as they saw him, the entire Israelis army ran away in fright. David saw God and not fear, so he declared that he would take care of Goliath. You know the story, David confronted Goliath, he reached into his shepherd's bag, took out a stone, hurled it from his sling, and hit Goliath into his forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath fell on his face to the ground -- dead.
Life is a struggle and it appears that we are always in some type of battle. We all have to face giants in our lives. Paul tells us, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).
The power of darkness shows up in so many different forms. Paul describes them as, fiery darts of the wicked. Our giants are those fiery darts. Those fiery darts are the difficulties that confronts us. They could be in our social life, in our family, in our marriage or friendship. Giants could be in our hearts or in our minds. Giants could be grief, setbacks, health issues, workplace issues, career pressure, financial crisis, depression, disappointments, doubt, anger, unfair treatment, worry, or our haunting past. There are so many different giants that we will have to face in our lives.
Our giants can be conquered. How? We have to face them. When we run from them we allow the fiery darts to penetrate and they continue to harm us so deeply. We must not become so Giant Focused, but become more God Focused. Don't give your giants any power. Your giants are your enemy. So stop talking to your enemy and stop talking the enemy up. All your enemy does is pump-up your problem. Why give your enemy so much power? Every time your enemy gets your attention, focus on God. When you focus on God, you become a giant slayer.
The same God that gave David the power to defeat Goliath, will give you the courage and power to face and defeat your giants. God wants you to give your giants to Him. Even if they are a family member, spouse or a friendship. Even if it is grief, loss, setbacks or health issues. Even if it is a workplace issue or career pressure. I know how it feels being a woman in a so called man's world. Even if you are having a financial crisis. We all know how it feels when our money starts looking funny.
Please believe me, as long as you live, you will always have problems. God is going to allow problems to confront you head-on. Believe me, if you have the spirit of faith, those giants will give you opportunities to become stronger by overcoming them. Oh yes, when you become God Focused and not Giant Focused, you have now become a Giant Slayer, and please allow God to get His glory.