One of my friends and I were recently talking about the story in Numbers 13-14 when God’s people refused to enter the Promised Land because there were giants there. That conversation has stuck with me and has seemed particularly applicable to my own life lately. “Overwhelmed” doesn’t even begin to describe how I’ve been feeling. In the book of Numbers, only two of the twelve spies said, “come on, we can take these guys!” Everyone else was so scared that they wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt!
Something that has really helped me face the giants in my life has been naming them: Finances, Insecurity, Synovial Chondromatosis, the Detroit Red Wings, etc. Having identified the obstacles, it’s easier for me to deal with them. We all know the name of the most famous giant ever, Goliath. When David had to deal with him, he did so “in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel…. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
Having been thoroughly convicted of what I should do with my giants, I have been trying very hard to do it. What I’m discovering is that sometimes, even when you’re trying to do the right thing, things don’t always work out the way you think they should. Elijah definitely experienced this when “he went and did according to the word of the LORD… and lived by the brook Cherith… the ravens brought him bread and meat… and he drank from the brook… and THE BROOK DRIED UP!”
Both Elijah and I are probably thinking something very similar as we watch our brooks dry up, something along the lines of “SERIOUSLY?!” Now, I realize that I’m mixing my biblical metaphors here, but let me just say that when you’ve determined to fight those giants (come hell or high water!) and your brook dries up, it’s beyond discouraging. I’m not trying to equate myself with Joshua and Caleb, or David, or Elijah, but then again, weren't they just ordinary people with extraordinary faith?
Who says I can’t have awesome faith like theirs, the kind that can move giant mountains? All I am trying to say is that it’s not as easy as it looks on paper. You expect adversity in such a venture, but what you don’t expect is a lack of support. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only person who has ever had the rug pulled out from under them: Elijah’s brook dried up, David’s brothers didn’t believe in him, and the whole nation told Joshua and Caleb they were crazy—it looks like I’m in good company!
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