But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are! …. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers!” [Numbers 13:31,33 (NLT)]
As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. [1 Samuel 17:24 (NLT)]
The Israelites had experienced about two years of God’s power and faithfulness the first time they approached Canaan. After walking through the Red Sea on dry land, they saw Pharaoh’s army drown in the same waters. They heard God’s voice and were led through the wilderness by His cloud during the day and fire at night. God’s power turned bitter water sweet, fed them with quail and manna, and led them to victory against the Amalekites. Nevertheless, it seems as if all of that was forgotten when the twelve spies returned from their forty days scouting Canaan.
Instead of trusting God’s promise that this bountiful land of “milk and honey” was theirs, ten of the spies returned convinced they were incapable of conquering the land. Focusing on the size and strength of the Anakites, the current possessors of Canaan, they saw giants and cities with “walls rising high in the sky.” Caleb and Joshua, however, saw the power of God; confident that Canaan could be conquered, they urged the people to enter the Promised Land. Israel, however, refused and the Anakites defeated them without even raising a sword!
Around 400 years later, a young shepherd boy came face to face with a “giant” warrior named Goliath. Like those ten spies, King Saul and Israel’s army only saw the strength and size of the Philistine warrior. David, however, saw God (and a target too large to miss)! Trusting that the God who delivered him from the lion’s claws and bear’s jaws would deliver him from the giant, David defiantly told Goliath that the Lord would conquer him that day. Indeed, He did!
Some 200 years after David encountered Goliath, the king of Aram tracked down Elisha and sent a great army to capture him. When the prophet’s servant looked out over the city’s walls, all he saw were Aramean soldiers, horses, and chariots. When Elisha looked out, however, he saw the God’s powerful army and the prophet reassured his servant there were more on their side than on Aram’s.
Blinded by their fear, ten Israelite spies only saw fortresses and mighty warriors, Saul and his men only saw the giant warrior Goliath, and Elisha’s servant only saw a massive enemy army. For Caleb, Joshua, David, and Elisha, however, the size of their opposition was irrelevant; what mattered was the size of their God!
It was only after Elisha asked the Lord to open his servant’s eyes that he saw God’s army protecting them. When we face seemingly insurmountable circumstances, let us do the same and ask the Lord to open our eyes. Instead of overwhelming odds and undefeatable giants, may we see the overwhelming undefeatable power of God!
We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. [Oswald Chambers]
If I were doing what accountants call a cost-benefit analysis of our living in Florida, the cost side would include venomous snakes, poisonous cane toads, hurricanes, alligators, sink holes, fire ants, and mosquitos along with humidity, allergies, high insurance, and seasonal traffic. On the other hand, the benefits would include never having to shovel snow, scrape sleet from a windshield, or drive on icy roads, along with the enjoyment of beaches, beautiful birds, colorful flowers, ocean breezes, “early-bird” specials, sunshine, no state income tax, and never-ending summer. While not one hundred times better, the pluses outweigh the negatives and make it worthwhile (at least for us)!
When a rich man asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life, the Lord told him to sell everything and give it to the poor. More willing to part with eternal life than his riches, the disappointed man departed. When Jesus explained, ”It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God,” the disciples were astonished. Jewish tradition held that riches were a sign of God’s blessings and favor while poverty and sickness were God’s curse. If a rich man couldn’t get into the kingdom, they wondered who could.
Although our Bibles call Hagar a servant, she had no choice in the matter. Along with sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, and camels, the Egyptian woman probably was given to Abraham as part of the bride-price Pharaoh paid for Sarah in Genesis 12:16. As his property, Hagar couldn’t refuse when Sarah decided to use her servant’s womb and Abraham impregnated her. Once pregnant, the powerless victim of Sarah’s scheme taunted her mistress with her fertility and Sarah retaliated by treating her harshly. Abraham washed his hands of the women’s conflict by telling Sarah the way she treated (or mistreated) the woman was her business, not his! Hagar meant nothing to Abraham; she was little more than a brood mare who served her purpose.
Things went downhill for Israel in the centuries following their arrival in Egypt. Life turned bad when Pharaoh’s once welcome guests became Pharaoh’s oppressed slaves who labored in his fields or made bricks for his building projects. Hearing their cry for relief, God called Moses to lead His children out of captivity. Although He warned Moses that Pharaoh would not let his labor force depart easily, God didn’t tell him that Israel’s life would go from bad to worse before they left Egypt.
Jesus told two parables about persistence. In the first, a man went to his neighbor’s home at midnight. Waking him, he asked for three loaves of bread because a traveler just arrived and he had no food for his hungry guest. Initially, the neighbor refused to open the door but, after tiring of the man’s persistent knocking, he finally gave him the bread. In the second parable, a widow kept badgering a corrupt judge with her appeals for justice against a man who has harmed her. Finally, worn down by her persistent pleas, the exasperated judge granted her request.
Devotions of the Heart 