Giants Will Fall

Satan hates geographical locations that have become meaningful to God and His people. When possible, he seeks to defile them, using perversions, violence, covenant breaking, idolatry, and the shedding of innocent blood. Hebron, as a type of Christ and a picture of covenantal friendship with God, became a prime target, and in the four centuries between Abraham and Joshua, evil giants had overtaken the city. In fact, the greatest of all the Anakim (giants), Arba, made it his stronghold and renamed Hebron after himself: Kiriath-Arba, meaning “the city of Arba” (see Joshua 14:15).

By the time the 12 spies of Israel were sent by Moses to check out the Promised Land, three more giants, direct descendants of Anak from whom the giants were spawned, had inherited Hebron (see Numbers 13:22, 28. 33). This holy place, representing friendship and covenant with God, was now ruled by giants and was a place of terror. It so terrified ten of the twelve spies, in fact, that they brought back an evil report of fear and unbelief to the rest of the nation. “There is no way we can take our promised land,” they stated. “The giants are simply too big and powerful.” 

Caleb, one of the 12 spies I spoke to you about a few days back, was indignant. Seeing that Arba and the other giants had defiled this holy city and desecrated the final resting place of the patriarch Abraham, he was angry. His response was to ask Moses for this very mountain-top city as his inheritance. “We can conquer these giants and their fortified cities, guys,” Caleb told the fearful Israelites, “and I’ll take the biggest.” Because of the Israelites’ fear and unbelief, however, Caleb had to wait for this opportunity. Forty-five years later, after 40 years of wilderness wandering by the unbelieving generation and another 5 years of war, it was time. Caleb, now 85 years old, said, “Give me my mountain!” (Joshua 14:12). In asking for this piece of land, this warrior was asking for more than a city; he was requesting the assignment of conquering the greatest stronghold of the giants. 

Caleb was BAD.

The greatest warrior did, indeed, conquer Kiriath-Arba and its giants, then renamed it Hebron. He pioneered Hebron again. Caleb enjoyed a covenantal friendship with God. He also paved the way for it to become David’s first capital and a picture of Christ, our Savior, and our Refuge. 

God is making an encouraging and wonderful announcement: “I am going to empower you to confront and take out spiritual giants ruling regions of the earth, transforming these regions into strongholds of life. You are going to transform spiritually dark cities and nations into places where covenantal friendship with God can be experienced, and from which the rule and authority of Christ can be seen again. All that God does on Earth is birthed through His intercessors. My goal today is to bring an understanding of your spiritual weapons, to strengthen your faith regarding knocking out spiritual giants in our land.

The praying Church is about to step into its highest authority and its greatest history-writing role.

I don’t have to tell you that things are shockingly out of control. The Church of America is discouraged, confused, people are finger-pointing and the giants in our land are mocking us in the name of their gods. Every part of American society is screaming for cause-minded, impassioned followers of Christ to arise and represent HIM and resurrect our song.

It’s past time to abandon our denial. Many Americans are like the optimist Mark Twain wrote of. Describing a fight he was obviously losing, this denial expert bragged, “Thrusting my nose firmly between his teeth, I threw him heavily to the ground on top of me.” 

We, in America, especially the body of Christ, must wake up to our true condition. America has become the proverbial frog in the kettle – We’ve been dying and don’t know it. Like the band on the RMS Titanic, we continue playing while the ship is sinking. There is no human answer for America’s punctured hull. We cannot bail the water fast enough

I have great hope for America; our song CAN be resurrected. But for hope and optimism to be legitimate, they must exist in the light of reality. Otherwise, they’re nothing more than denial-driven complacency. In misguided optimism, like the causeless army of Israel when facing Goliath, we have convinced ourselves that if we wait long enough, the shocking giants of the land will go away and leave us alone. 

Satan, however, has no intention of letting up in his relentless assault on America. Positive change will only come when a people of passion, like Caleb, rise to the challenge and meet the enemy in spiritual battle. If we do, we can turn the tide. 

Repentance of sin, turning back to God, and a Third Great Awakening are America’s only hope. Will this occur? Will we see the fulfillment of these and other hope-filled promises? A resounding YES!!! Modern-day Caleb’s – bold, cause-minded spiritual warriors – are rising. 

God is giving America a chance to re-write her epitaph. If written today, it would read, “Weighed in the Balances and Found Wanting,” or perhaps, “The Giants Won.” But our gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness, forgives sinners and heals nations.

And to cause-minded Caleb’s…He gives anointings to slay giants.

You, my friend, are a giant slayer.

Give Him 15 minutes in prayer:

• Ask God to show where you may be complacent – even procrastinating a spiritual assignment He has for you.
• Re-engage your “Caleb” spirit – the warrior within.
• Commit to being part of the praying Church and not sitting on the sidelines.
• Remind yourself of the covenantal friendship you have with Jesus. Allow yourself to be refreshed in His presence.
• Determine that you want to be part of America’s renewal and rebuilding, writing history and making a difference.

A prayer you can pray:

Lord, we thank you for the examples you give us in scripture. We can find encouragement and tools for our journey as we read biblical history and the passages that describe how You helped Your people. You never made them walk alone or figure it out by themselves. Instead, you empowered them and encouraged them.

We are grateful for Caleb’s example – the warrior who was not afraid in the face of discouragement, overwhelming odds, and possible defeat. Not only were the giants intimidating, but the weaknesses of others forced him to wait longer to take them out than he had initially planned. Oh, how we wish that timing wasn’t a factor – that we could always see the results of our prayers immediately.

But we will not remain discouraged. We will come into your presence and find refreshment and clear direction for the future. We drink deeply from your wells and as we pray, our eyesight is becoming clearer. 

We agree with you, Holy Spirit, that Your plans for America have not changed. Her destiny and purpose are just as clear today as before. We will embrace Your will, Your guidance, and sharpen our ears to hear You even more clearly as we move forward. We thank you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Decree:

We decree that we are giant slayers!

Part of today’s devotional was taken from my book Giants Will Fall.