II Corinthians 4:8

Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

I forgat prosperity. And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord .—Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.—Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord , and my judgment is passed over from my God?—In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

We having the same spirit of faith.

As chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

An inner-city missionary, stumbling through the trash of a dark apartment doorway, heard someone say, “Who’s there, Honey?” Lighting a match, he caught sight of earthly needs and suffering, amid saintly trust and peace.

Calm, appealing eyes, etched in ebony, were set within the wrinkles of a weathered black face. On a bitterly cold night in February, she lay on a tattered bed, with no fire, no heat, and no light. Having had no breakfast, lunch, or dinner, she seemed to have nothing at all, except arthritis and faith in God. No one could have been further removed from comfortable circumstances, yet this favorite song of the dear lady played in the background:

Yes, the Israeli spies saw giants, but Joshua and Caleb saw God! Those who doubt still say today , “We can’t attack . . . ; they are stronger than we are” (v. 31). Yet those who believe say, “We should go up and take possession . . . for we can certainly do it ” (v. 30).

Giants represent great difficulties, and they stalk us everywhere. They are in our families, our churches, our social life, and even our own hearts. We must overcome them or they will devour us, just as the ancient Israelites, fearing those in Canaan, said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size” (v. 32). We should exhibit faith as did Joshua and Caleb, who said, “Do not be afraid . . . , because we will devour them” (Numbers 14:9). In effect, they told the others, “We will be stronger by overcoming them than if there had been no giants to defeat.”