Giants in the Promiseland

I read Same Kind of Different as Me during the Christmas break. It's a great book, and I recommend it to anyone who likes to laugh, cry and finish a book in two days. It's about two men - with totally different backgrounds and lifestyles, and how God brings them together and uses them for His purpose. My goal here is not to write a review of the book, which I'll end up doing if I'm not careful. What I really want to talk about is one specific part that I've been thinking about for days now.

There is a part in the book where the spouse of one of the main characters is diagnosed with cancer. As they went to bed on the night of her diagnosis, she tells her husband the story about the giants in the Promiseland. In the book of Numbers, chapter 13, Moses sends 12 spies into Canaan, (which God was giving to the Israelites) to scout out the land. When the 12 spies return, they report both good news (the land is plentiful - it flows with milk and honey) and bad news (the people there are powerful - there are even giants there). Naturally, as the Israelites had a propensity to do, they freak out and question why God has brought them that far, only to be killed by giants.

Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, respond with this:

“The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

So - the spouse in the story, diagnosed with cancer, is telling this to her husband as a source of comfort - the Lord was with them, and they didn't need to be afraid.

It got me thinking then, and every day since then...I'm really going to stretch the metaphor now...If the Promiseland is the place that God has for me (let's just say here and now - my life)...what are the giants there? What were the giants in 2009? What can I do to defeat them?

I won't list what the giants were or are (that's what most of the thinking has been about), but I also had this concept in mind as I made my resolutions for 2010. Here you go:

1. Read through the Bible this year.

2. Continue with school - goal is 5 classes by the end of the year.

3. Be a better: Mom. Friend. Servant.

4. Attitude. Fruits of the Spirit.

5. Spend less, give more.

6. Trust God. He will give me what I need, that what He has for me is better than anything I could desire, the He is in control and knows what happens to me. I don't have to worry.

What are the giants in your Promiseland?

A Staff Conversation About Commitment

I like what everyone has said about this so far - lots of different ideas about what it means to be committed in both life and to God.

Commitment comes in lots of different forms. Most often, I think of commitment in the context of a relationship. "Love is a choice" and all that stuff. Everyone who knows me knows I'm either all in or all out. Black and white. No grey area. I do commitment well (or not well) depending on how you look at it. I take commitments to heart and I hold others to the same standard. But true commitment to God means a lot more than that.

When you're committed to God, I think it means you...

...do God's will rather than your own. Things always work out better that way.

...don't quit. There are times I want to quit certain things out of frustration - I'm too busy, it doesn't seem worth it, I just plain don't want to do whatever "it" is. But there is an intense amount of satisfaction coming through on the other side, knowing I didn't quit whatever it was - and I feel like it honors God when I follow through.

...make it a full-time gig. Am I committed when no one is looking? Do I stay committed with the things I put into my mind and heart - music, movies, people, places? What does my bank account show I'm committed to? Does the way I spend my spare time say I'm committed to God or the world?

Father, in the new year, help us to be committed to You. Give us strength to be not only hearers, but also doers of your Word. Thank you for loving us, even when we are not true to ourselves or to You.