We read the stories of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, of Daniel, of the men who spied out the Promised Land (and even of Peter and Paul) and wonder what we would do if we were in their shoes. Those of us who enjoy freedom of religion are very thankful that we will probably never be put to the test.
We think this way because we read the Scriptures only as historical accounts of God’s people.
What we fail to realize is that every story is our story —even when we are unaware of it. Every time I make a decision to believe the promises of God (which Paul tells us are yea
and Amen
—2Corinthians 1:20) rather than the wisdom of this world (which is foolishness in the eyes of God —1Corinthians 3:19), I am immediately face to face with my fears (the Nebuchadnezzars or the other giants
of Scripture) which are threatening my very life. This is equally true in every area of our lives —physical, financial, mental, social. I may not be facing the same giants
that you are, but all of us do face them. The moment you decide to believe anything promised by God, every conscious and subconscious fear you retain in that area immediately asserts itself.
When I am faced with physical danger, I, like Moses and the children of Israel (Exodus 14) and like Jehoshaphat and all Judah (2Chronicles 20) will feel fear. Then it is that I will decide if I will stand still and see the salvation of the Lord
(2Chronicles 20:17; Exodus 14:13), knowing that the battle is not mine, but God’s (2Chronicles 20:15) or I will heed the evil report
(Numbers 13:32) (or man’s wisdom) and wander in the wilderness another 40 years (metaphorically speaking). This evil report
may come from a doctor, telling me that I have terminal cancer or a weather forecaster, telling me a tornado or hurricane is headed in my direction —or it could just be a voice in my head telling me that I am probably going to die. No matter the source, it is anything which strikes fear in me, tempting me to doubt the promises of God and the perfect love of God which casts out all that fear (which has indeed put me into a place of torment) (1John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.).
As I said earlier, we don’t all face the same giants. My personal lion’s den
has always been in the area of physical illness. I discovered early that I had a deeply rooted fear of contracting all the most dreaded diseases we hear and read about in the media. Any symptom could send me into a veritable frenzy of fear, causing me to lie awake nights fearing that I had everything from an ingrown toenail to an aneurysm in the brain.
I’ve chosen to lay hold of God’s many promises in this area. I’ve chosen to believe that Jesus took upon Himself all diseases and that by His stripes I have already been healed (Isaiah 53). I believe Jesus’ promise that I can drink (or eat) any deadly thing
and it won’t hurt me (Mark 16:18); for I could be persuaded by the media’s evil reports
that almost everything I put in my mouth is deadly.
I rely heavily on Jesus words: Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. I also believe that when I pray Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven
(Matthew 6:10) as Jesus instructed, I am confident that God’s will is ever good and does not include disease of any sort. This doesn’t mean that I eat junk food and am a couch potato. It does mean that I attempt to follow the leading of the Spirit inside me rather than man’s wisdom concerning what I should or should not eat or do. That Spirit is ever speaking, This is the way, walk ye in it
(Isaiah 30:21).
Your lion’s den
may be in the mental arena. I don’t deny that I’ve also had some giants to face in this area. Because I had several relatives who had either suffered nervous breakdowns, been in psychiatric wards or been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and because I saw a tendency in myself toward melancholia, I had a nagging fear that I might also become a victim. But I emerged from that fiery furnace
without even the smell of smoke on me (Daniel 3:26-27) after having these words of Jesus revealed to me:
Matthew 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
I now understood that I didn’t have to accept man’s wisdom concerning genetics, that as the son of God
I received the very DNA of God, not of the one I had called my earthly father (or mother). In this case it was very easy for me to stand still and see the salvation of my Lord
—much easier than in the case of physical illness (see A Sound Mind).
For others of you, your fears may lie in the financial realm. Perhaps you suffered lack as a child. Now your Goliath
is the feeling that you never have adequate finances. You know the promises that God will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19) and that He will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings too big to contain (Malachi 3:10); but you are not experiencing these blessings. This is a big subject, deserving of more attention than I’m giving it here; but I do want to share with you what I have found to be the two biggest hindrances to receiving the abundance that Jesus said He came to give (John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.).
The first obstacle is seeing yourself as a receiver rather than a giver. Jesus said that you are more blessed when you give than when you receive (Acts 20:35), the reason being that you really cannot give cheerfully (2Corinthians 9:7) unless you believe that you already have (all things are yours
—1Corinthians 3:21) (all that I have is thine
—Luke 15:31). You must believe the promise of Jesus:
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. [By the way, this promise also works when you give out judgment, criticism, etc.; but that is a subject for another study.]
The second hindrance to living in financial abundance is closely connected to the first. Your possessions must not possess you. You have to hold them lightly, ready to let go of any and all of them if and when the Spirit directs. You can do this only when they don’t have value —when they are viewed as something to be used and enjoyed but not owned. This is why Jesus instructed the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor (Luke 18:22), not because there is anything wrong with having possessions. What is wrong is not being able to let go of them —which is why the young man was very sorrowful
(v 23). I confess that I used to be a hoarder and frugal to the point of stinginess; but all that changed when I received the revelation of letting go of God’s never-ending supply.
I suppose there is no end to what one may fear and, incidentally, have come upon him as did Job (Job 3:25); but I will address only one other giant
—the fear of being a social misfit. You may be slow of speech
as Moses thought he was (Exodus 4:10) or you may be from the least significant family in a very insignificant community as Saul was (1Samuel 9:21). This would include everything from stage fright to the fear of being made fun of, having no friends or never finding a mate. The giants
in this category come in all shapes and sizes.
But in every case, the problem is really being self-conscious rather than God-conscious. We must become like Jesus, knowing that of mine own self I can do nothing
(John 5:30) but that with God all things are possible
(Matthew 19:26).
Paul admonishes us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Romans 12:3). I can just hear you protesting, I don’t think highly of myself; I hate myself.
No, you don’t. You just hate the fact that your self
cannot accomplish what it desires. All you think of is your self
which consistently does the opposite of what you want it to —just as Paul’s self
did. For what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that I do
(Romans 7:17). That is a perfect description of what you are experiencing.
There is but one solution; it is given to us by Jesus:
- Matthew 10:39
- He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
- Luke 14:26
- If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Again, we must let go of what we want most in order to have it. It must lose the value we have placed upon it so that we can hold it lightly and not be possessed by it. We must allow God to both choose and maintain all our relationships and our social success.
Otherwise, the heartache never ends and we are continually on a roller coaster of emotions. When I can view public appearances and all social relationships (and even the work that I do as a hobby or for a living) as nothing more than opportunities for God to live His life through me for the purpose of bringing light into the gross darkness of this world, then, and only then, will I find contentment.
Whatever giant I am facing, I can use all the biblical accounts of people facing challenges to aid in my decision —which will determine my response. Will I believe and rely on God’s promises or will I seek the wisdom of this world? In either case, there is no condemnation —though the outcome may be decidedly different.
My desire is that you will begin to read the Scriptural narratives not merely as history but as parables of your own life which give encouragement and direction for you in whatever you are experiencing at the moment. I want you to realize that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), that you are no different than Daniel, David or Moses, that, indeed, their story is your story and that when you respond to your giant the way they responded to theirs, you will experience the same outcome.
I want you to cease thinking of these Biblical characters as spiritual superheroes performing feats that aren’t within your grasp and begin to see them as Jesus did:
Matthew 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
I wish to see all of us daring to believe that the kingdom of heaven is within us, as Jesus said it was (Luke 17:21) and begin to live up to the greatness Jesus said was ours in the verse quoted above.