[This is one in a series of mid-week devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during March 2021]
No foes shall stay his might, though he with giants fight;
he will make good his right to be a pilgrim.
Attributed to John Bunyan, 1628-1688
One of the disadvantages of being a giant is that you tend to become rather cumbersome in confined spaces. So if you are the pilot of a giant container ship aground in a narrow channel then ‘big’ is too small a word to describe your problem. This event – again, too small a word – is having a global impact on activities as diverse as tractor manufacturing in America and fish processing in Scotland.
My own experiences of traversing the Suez canal were less dramatic but they gave me the opportunity to see the pyramids along the Nile. These gigantic structures stand up from the surrounding desert and remind us of the significance that Egypt has had throughout history. In the Biblical record we see Egypt as being at various times a place of refuge and sustenance but at others as an oppressor. For Moses, the Egyptians represented a daunting challenge and he asked God to send someone else, but God knew how to show him, and them, who was in charge.
Of shorter duration but no less impressive was the giant statue that Nebuchadnezzar had erected on a plain outside Babylon. Daniel chapter 3 tells us that it was 90 feet high (five times the height of the statue on top of Nelson’s Column) and it was made of gold. Nebuchadnezzar commanded that whenever the court musicians sounded the call, all his subjects were to fall down and worship his statue. Three worshippers of the One True God would not comply; several court officials got badly burned when they tried to betray them.
In due course, Nebuchadnezzar faced a challenge of his own. After seven years of humbling experiences he eventually got the message; this is his testimony:
It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation. [Daniel 4 v2-3 NIVUK]
How do we react to the giants that we encounter? Saul was head and shoulders taller than the other Israelites but Goliath filled him with fear; not the fear of God but fear of man. By contrast, David saw the giant as a big opportunity to bring glory to God. Goliath lost his head and Saul lost his reputation, but the people of God were the victors that day.
Our ‘giants’ might not be huge physical entities. Our challenges may be closer to home but they threaten to overwhelm us none the less: health, finances, relationships, spiritual well-being; the list is not exhaustive.
Will you be like Moses who tried to avoid the problem; like Nebuchadnezzar who had to learn the hard way, or like Saul who was frozen into doing nothing? Or will you emulate David who, recalling God’s past deliverances, tackled the problem with confidence?
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. [Isaiah 41 v10 NIVUK]
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
