When The Enemy Looks Bigger

Why so fearful?

For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Isaiah 41:13

Often times in life we don't fear the small stuff, but when the big things present themselves...we start to fear all the what if's or worse case scenarios!

Today, I want us to look at the children of Israel. The great I Am had come and revealed Himself to His people in the most outstanding and powerful way. God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt, but He didn't just set them free, He sent 10 plagues to demonstrate to His people how big their God was. (And still is!)

Not only did God reveal Himself as their deliverer but He also destroyed Pharaoh and his army demonstrating He was their strength and their victory!

And if all that wasn't enough, He clearly showed His chosen people that He was their sustainer and provider when He gave them manna to eat and water from the rock. So, with all this knowledge, and all of these miracles demonstrated before their very eyes, why did they think the promised land was too scary to take?

In Numbers 13, we learn that the children of Israel were about to go into Canaan, which the Lord had promised them, so the Lord told Moses to send in spies, one from every tribe, and see this land that He was giving to them.

The spies were to see all that this land possessed but rather than being over joyed by all the splendors that they saw, they allowed themselves to focus on how small they felt compared to the people dwelling in the land.

And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. Numbers 13:30‭-‬31

In this moment the children of Israel, except Caleb and Joshua, started looking at how big the adversary was and took their eyes off how big their God was. They loved that the land before them was flowing with blessings but couldn't get past how large the enemy was in comparison to themselves.

Now, before we get to judgy, stop and think about the last time a problem or circumstance appeared bigger than your ability to manage, did you automatically think my God is bigger? Did you praise God that He would be your victory? or was your first thought, "What am I going to do? How will I ever make it through?"

Did you allow the size of the enemy to make you afraid, or like Caleb, did you say full speed ahead my God has got this, He is bigger than anything I might encounter?

In this life we will come against many things that look bigger than us. We will face situations and battles that may make us fearful, but in those moments we have a choice we can be like Caleb and Joshua, or the other children of Isreal.

And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: and they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. Numbers 14:6‭-‬9

When we choose to be like Joshua and Caleb, we are acknowledging that the enemy looks big, but if the Lord wills we will be victorious because our God is bigger!

We need not be fearful of the size of the giant, when we know how big our God is!