“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

At the end of May, Ben’s Aunt Gladys was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. It has been a whirlwind of appointments and tests, among days filled confusion and worry. Now today, she will be undergoing her second chemotherapy treatment, foreknowing that her body will be knocked back down just as soon as it was beginning to regain a foothold. This is a giant looming over her that appears insurmountable at first glance.

After being encamped near Mt. Sinai for two years, the people of Israel were on the verge of entering Canaan — the land God had promised them. God told them to send twelve spies to assess the land and the people living there. When the spies saw the strength of the Canaanites and the size of their cities, ten of them said, “We can’t!” while two others declared, “We can!”

So what made the difference?

When the ten compared the giants with themselves, the giants towered in their minds. Caleb and Joshua, however, compared the giants with God, and they were cut down to size. Unbelief never lets us get beyond the difficulties, the impenetrable cities and the impossible giants. It preoccupies itself with them, brooding over them, and pitting them against our mere human resources.

Faith, on the other hand, though it never minimizes the dangers and difficulties of any circumstance, looks away from them to God and counts on His invisible presence and power.

What are your “giants”? A habit you cannot break? A temptation you cannot resist? A battle with cancer? If we compare ourselves with our difficulties, we will always be overwhelmed. Faith looks away from the greatness of the undertaking to the greatness of an ever-present, all-powerful God.

Please join me today in praying for Aunt Gi and all those in the midst of a battle. We pray that by His might and will, they know they have the strength to face the Giants before them, and that He is already victorious.

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”  2 Corinthians 4:8-9