Fighting the Giants

UV 2911/10000 Fighting the Giants
The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;
Deuteronomy 1 v 30

When the odds are against us, when the chips are down- these are the times the Lord is closest to His people. He fights on our behalf though we may be weak and puny as ants and those who oppose us, attack us, surround us seem like giants. He makes us gi-ants 0r God-inspired ants. He multiplies His signs and wonders in our midst as He did in Egypt on behalf of the hapless, unarmed Israelites led only by a man who carried a mere staff against the chariots and horses of Egypt. Pharaoh was a giant in comparison to the frail and old Moses and Aaron. By his mere word, he could have had Moses and Aaron killed. But Moses strengthened by the words of the Great I Am, Jehovah was himself a gi-ant or God-inspired ant. He had no great power or charisma of his own but relied entirely on the power of the Lord. He drove terror into the hearts of Pharaoh, the people of Egypt, the soldiers and commanders, the charioteers and horses. The Egyptians realized that the Israelites empowered by the Lord were invincible. In vain had Pharaoh hardened his heart in obstinacy for finally, He had to let the people of God go. The gi-ants had succeeded. They never had to see the Egyptian masters again. Israel had complete and total deliverance from the “super power” Egypt, proving that the word super power applied to nations is a misnomer. Only the Lord is the super power, the highest power, the paramount. In our lives, the Egyptian ruler, army, slave drivers are metaphors of different kinds of people who ride rough shod over us, who oppress us. These are also physical symbols of spiritual strongholds that attempt to rule over us, oppress us , attack us or oppose us. None of these giants, whether human, spiritual or physical can prevail against the will and word of the Lord.

For the gi-ants to succeed, the Lord our God has to go before us. Whatever we undertake, whatever struggle or opposition we face, whatever hostility we confront, even if the odds are formidable and against us, the Lord will turn the table. He inspires us with faith, courage, confidence, hope, fearlessness to take on the giants of our lives. The Lord does not wield a sword or shield or ride a chariot but He uses the strength of the enemy against themselves, He uses the elements of nature like cloud, fire, weather, rivers, seas to deliver the gi-ants. After the time of Moses, the mantle of leadership passed on to his mentee, Joshua and Joshua as a gi-ant was inspired and enabled to lead the motley army of Israel to victory against 31 kings. This becomes a metaphor for believers today. We daily combat 31 kings and the presence of the Lord with us enables us to overcome these giants. Indeed, if God be for us, who or what can be against us.
Apart from external foes who are formidable, we can also have internal foes. The first and foremost giants Jesus enables us to overcome is the fear of death. This giant’s head is crushed under the heel of the Saviour though He himself was hurt for a time. Another giant we need to face and overcome is the fear of failure. Like the young David, we need to store in our hearts uni-verses like this one to inspire us to persist and overcome the fear of failure. When we fear failure, we refuse to even try as ten of the twelve spies sent by Joshua advised him not even to try to take the promised land from the giant Anakim who inhabited the land adjoining Canaan. We do not go against the giants with stones and slings, or swords and shields but with prayers and promises. Other giants of our lives that Jesus helps us overcome daily are guilt, fear of judgement, lack of purpose, worries, temptations, trials, persecution, hatred, fear of diseases, fear of our own weaknesses and vulnerabilities, bitterness, envy, pride, indiscipline, lack of self control, insecurity, hopelessness, depression, lust, greed and so on. The Lord gives us victory over these giants so that we are strong, joyful and free, so that we have an inspiring glimpse of His glory and a powerful testimony or evidence of the reality of the Lord revealing Himself in our everyday situations and existential struggles.

Prateep V Philip