Joshua 11

“At that time, Joshua proceeded to exterminate the Anakim from the hill country – Hebron, Debir, Anab – all the hill country of Judah and Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them with their cities. No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites, except for some remaining in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the Lord had told Moses. Joshua then gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. After this, the land had rest from war.” Joshua 11:21-23 (HCSB)

Who were the Anakim? They were the “giants in the land.” Remember the negative report concerning Canaan, which 10-of-the-12 spies gave to Moses?

“They reported to Moses: “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw descendants of Anak there.” Numbers 13:27-28 (HCSB)

Were there actual “giants” in Canaan? Yes. But should that have stopped Israel from trusting the Lord’s promise, “You will defeat them”? Obviously not! We all face spiritual opposition, and some of our battles are against spiritual “giants.” It would be utterly impossible for us to defeat them unless God were with us. And He is.

People generally don’t trust God because they don’t know Him well. They may know things about Him, but they don’t spend quality time with Him on a regular basis. I say it often, but Trust = Character/Time.

The best way to build your trust with the Lord is by experiencing His character through spending time in His Word, the Bible. In the Bible, we experience the triumphs and trials of people just like us. You experience God’s love and great promises but also His rebuke and judgment.

Israel is truly a nation of priests. It is through their story, the recount of their faithful choices (and faithless-ness), that we experience God’s character and interaction with people. Their story spans throughout history yet is condensed into a collection of relatively short books. Simply turn on the network news, and you can join their ongoing “narrative” in our generation, but you will never get the full story in its proper context until you personally and consistently seek God’s Word, the Bible. God’s Word should be the filter through which you view the World.

That being said, we will never defeat the “Giants” in our lives until we do as Joshua did:

“So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with ALL that the Lord had told Moses.” Where do we learn all that the Lord commands, concerning defeating giants? And from what source do we muster the confidence to obey His commands? His revealed Word, the Bible. (Romans 10:17)