Motivation Monday - Why It's Time To Face Your Giants
“May God grant you, through the breath of His Spirit through you, and His resurrection power in you, to not only face your giants, but run toward them and slay them.
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In time, little things become big things.
First the pandemic. It started as a few days, then months of a global phenomenon, then grew from months into years of medical, political and economic unintended consequences. World events far from our borders that never seemed to affect us began overwhelming our daily access to affordable goods and took over the news.
You see the world become increasingly fearful of leaders who are determined to grab as much power by inhumane ways. It’s also not a surprise that you may inwardly fear that those in leadership positions in the church or ministry may not have what it takes to stay the course, or carry the strength to see you through.
Your giants of fear and uncertainty will not overcome you.
We all will face giants at one time or another in our lives. By giants, I am speaking of what seem to be insurmountable problems and issues. We try to fell these giants, but often they seem to only grow stronger with the passing of time.
It could be a giant of fear. Or mental illness. It could be a giant of threat that is taunting you today. Someone has slandered you. A lawsuit has been filed against you. Maybe there is even a threat against your very life. Maybe your God-sized dream has been rendered null and void.
Or it might be a different kind of giant altogether, like an unbelieving spouse or a prodigal child. You have prayed for them. You have asked the Lord to reach them, yet they seem to become more hardened as the years pass by. You find yourself wondering how you will ever overcome this. Your church may be struggling to gather again after being virtual for longer than you ever imagined.
So how do you and I deal with giants? We find the answer in the Old Testament account David and Goliath.
What a victory it was as David boldly defeated the giant Goliath, armed only with a slingshot and five smooth stones. The will of the Philistines was broken. The Israelites were reinvigorated. And it was all because a little shepherd boy answered the call of God and cut down the giant.
What do we learn from this story about facing off with our own giants in life?
One - recognize that we all have giants. We all face severe hardships, seemingly insurmountable obstacles and temptations. We all have problems. We all have temptations.
We read in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure"
While it is true we all have giants, it is also true that every giant can be defeated.
After all, giants rarely start out that way.
We let them take space in our minds and allow them to outgrow our faith.
Goliath was not always a giant. He was not always 9-feet-6-inches tall. He was once a baby. And with the passing of time and the nurture of others, the baby became a child. And the child became a teenager. And the teenager became a man. And the man turned into a giant.
In the same way, giants often begin quite small. When we allow fear in our lives, and allow it to live rent free, nurture it, feed it, and even encourage it by being distracted and discouraged by all that is going on around us, it becomes a giant that taunts us.
In time, little things become big things.
Two - realize that the battle belongs to the Lord. David told Goliath, "This is the Lord's battle, and he will give you to us (1 Samuel 17:47). That is why giants defeat us again and again—because we face them in our own strength and we lose. We need to realize this is the Lord's battle.
Three - attack your giant. This is a tough one – especially if you live on Canadian soil and are female. We are more likely to be tolerant and polite, not assertive.
The strongest statement ever made about women's rights appears on page one of the Bible. God's first words about his daughters established an indestructible foundation for women's rights because God anchored those rights in himself. By creating his daughters along with his sons in his image and likeness, God elevated every human being to the highest possible rank. Which means any mistreatment - verbal, emotional, or physical - of any woman or girl amounts to defacement of God himself, for she bears his image. The fear of using our voice as female Christ-followers leaves us powerless against the giant of the lie that we were created as a lesser being, without the image of God and his character stamped on our very lives.
We can do battle against these lies by anchoring our identity in God.
We can do battle against these lies by finding our voice in God’s.
Goliath had come into the actual territory of the Israelites. He had crossed their line. He was taunting them.
If you tolerate a Goliath, he will take over your territory.
He will come right up on your doorstep.
That is why you don't run from giants. You don't negotiate with them. You attack them. The Bible tells us, "As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him" (1 Samuel 17:48). As the enemy drew closer, David ran right at him.
Whatever your giant may be, force it into the light of day.
Stop rationalizing it. Stop excusing it.
You need to understand that you cannot defeat giants in your own strength.
Call on God and pray for His power, and then attack it. Draw lines and be accountable to others. Stay away from people who keep the fear narrative alive. And don't let that giant back into your life again.
Finally, trust in the Lord. We’ve been looking at the news a lot more than we have been looking at biblical truth. Don't look at God in the light of your giant. Instead, look at your giant in the light of God.
May God grant you, through the breath of His Spirit through you, and His resurrection power in you, to not only face your giants, but run toward them and slay them. The world is waiting for you to step into victory over your giants, and by doing so, model the Jesus way, who overcame the cross.
Face your giants.
Understand what you have in your hand,
what God has strategically positioned as a weapon for you to use.
And use it to slay your giant.
Leave the outcome to God.
Most likely, there is a victory waiting on the other side of your obedience.
Claim the truth that as a woman created in God’s image you go out into the world as His child, with His authority, bearing His image.
I believe in you.
Cathie