Facing Your Giants

If you’ve ever heard me share my testimony, you know I went through some very difficult times as a child. I was not only sexually abused by my father but, in many ways, I was also abandoned by my mother, who knew of the abuse and was too afraid to confront it.

In fact, there were some things that were so painful, I wondered if I would ever survive them! But I did, and now one of my greatest desires is to help others know how to trust God and lean on Him so they can overcome their struggles too.

For starters, when it comes to facing our issues in life, there’s a huge difference between trying to do it in our own strength and relying on the help of the Holy Spirit. To be honest, so many of life’s problems are simply too big for us to handle...but they’re not too big for God.

Maybe the greatest thing I can share with you today is that you are not alone. Whatever you may be going through, God wants you to know that He sees you, He loves you, and He wants to help you go forward in the strength of His Holy Spirit.

The truth is, God never intended for us to live weak, helpless, barely-get-by lives. That’s why He sent the Holy Spirit to be our “Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby)” (John 15:26 AMPC).

The Holy Spirit wants to help us deal with situations we could never deal with on our own. He wants to lead, guide and strengthen us so we can fight life’s battles and win...so we can receive every good thing God has for our lives.

I think we can learn a great lesson from Numbers Chapter 13. Moses had recently led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, and now they were just outside of Canaan, the land that God promised to give them. However, when Moses sent 12 spies to go and scout out the land, 10 of them came back with a negative report. Look at what they said:

We came to the land which you sent us; surely it flows with milk and honey...But we are not able to go up against the people [of Canaan], for they are stronger than we are...There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight (Numbers 13: 27,31,33 AMPC).

It’s amazing to me that even though the Israelites knew God was giving them this land, they failed to go in and take what was theirs because they refused to face the giants. All they could see was how little they were in comparison, and they gave in to fear. Their eyes were on themselves when they should have been focused on God’s overwhelming ability to help them succeed!

You may think, If God was giving them the land, why didn’t He simply clear out the giants Himself? The Lord didn’t make all of their problems suddenly disappear because He wanted to teach them how to trust Him and lean on Him for the strength they needed to overcome their enemies.

Like the Israelites, we all have “giants”—problems in life we have to overcome. But if we choose to run to God and rely on His strength to help us, we can not only defeat our giants, but the Lord will make us stronger in the process...then use us to do greater things than we ever imagined!

It almost doesn’t make sense to the natural mind, but somehow, I believe my life has actually turned out better because of the difficult things I went through. Because I turned to God for strength and allowed Him to help me face my “giant” of emotional brokenness, I am now able to help so many other people who struggle with the same thing. Only God can take our hard places in life and use them to help us!

So, what giants are you facing today? The giant of a troubled relationship? The giant of a difficult boss? The giant of an overwhelming situation that you’re suddenly facing? Whatever it may be, please know that God wants to give you the strength and ability to deal with anything that comes your way.

Just look at what Jesus says in Acts 1:8 (AMPC): But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.

I love this! The Holy Spirit is with you all the time, and His power gives you “ability, efficiency, and might.” Because you have the power of the Holy Spirit, it means you can be the kind of person who represents Jesus Christ as a light in a dark place...who has peace in the midst of the storm...who can face their giants head-on and receive every single thing God has promised you.

I recommend you take a few minutes to read the story of David and Goliath in the book of 1 Samuel. The Bible says, As the Philistine [the giant] moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him (1 Samuel 17:48 NIV).

Wow! Although David was no match in size, he ran to the battle line to fight the giant because He had a close, intimate relationship with God, and he knew the Lord was so much greater than his enemy.

I encourage you to take time to get to know God for yourself. Spend time with Him in prayer and through studying His Word. Wait on the Lord and receive the strength He has for you today (Isaiah 40:31).

Pray, “God, I trust You. Please strengthen me today to face my giants and do whatever I need to do. I require Your strength, wisdom, and guidance in every single area of my life. Help me to never give up, but to continue moving forward in Your strength until I receive everything You have for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.”