I am tired, very tired...and sore, very sore. I just finished cutting down the biggest cedar tree you will ever see. It was a giant of a tree; towering over 45 feet high, with a diameter in excess of four feet. It took me quite a few hours to achieve this victory with my very small electric chainsaw and a rope, but the tree fell down. I cannot begin to express to you my immense feeling of satisfaction as I saw that big giant topple at my feet.
This is how David must have felt when he defeated Goliath. This Philistine was an intimidating giant; standing at over eigth feet tall. David didn't have a chainsaw or a sword, but some stones and a slingshot. One stone it was all it took to take down the giant; one stone was enough in the name of the Lord (Read 1 Samuel 17).
Are there giants in your life? If we are honest before the Lord, we must confess that all of us face giants from time to time, if not every day. There are many giants roaming around today and many times they gather together to attack us. All of these giants are big, powerful and very scary and they would defeat us so easily, were it not for the grace and mercy of God over our lives.
There is an ugly giant named Fear and a pretty giant called Temptation. I have met a gloomy giant who goes by the name of Depression, who always walks together with his friends Doubt, Anxiety and Guilt. Some people have followed another group of giants and have become entangled in a vicious cycle of destruction, and no wonder for their names are Lies, Gossip, Slander and Envy. There are many other giants in this world, but the scariest bunch are wreaking havoc all over the place. They have no respect for age, race or nationality. They are the giants called Murder, Drugs and Suicide.
These giants will fall down in the presence of a victorious and obedient child of God. This is what happened to Goliath and this is what could have happened to the giants in Canaan if all the spies and all the people of Israel would have had Caleb's courage and faith. It was he who exclaimed:
“Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” (Numbers 13:30)
That is precisely the kind of faith and courage you and I need. If we look at this world with our own eyes, we will always be afraid of the giants, or the waves ( read Matthew 14); but when we look through the eyes of faith, we will not be able to see any giants anymore.
Alexander Gonzalez
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins is amusing and tragic. She was a wealthy New York socialite, who "performed" in many private concerts for her friends and celebrities. This tone-deaf "singer" was never told the truth about her awful voice and she kept on singing from 1920s to the 1940s. In 1944 she decided to perform in a public concert at Carnegie Hall.
Florence was deluded into thinking that she was indeed one of the greatest American sopranos. That night, in New York, proved to be fatal for Florence as she was exposed to the truth for the first time in her life. The public audience in that concert was brutal to Florence and all the newspaper music critics were even more vicious as they ruthlessly censured her performance.
Florence died a few days later.
Honesty is a wonderful trait to have and display, but only if it's properly accompanied by love. In fact, the Bible exhort us to always be: "...speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). Love that is not informed and directed by the truth is only hypocrisy. Perhaps you know people like that. They always speak "flowers" to you, but throw daggers at you behind your back.
On the other hand, speaking the truth without love is cruelty of the highest degree. Just because something is true about someone, does not give us the right to say it, especially if we have not been asked to do so! This is not honesty, but brutality. This kind of misguided "honesty" has been responsible for the deaths of many marriages and relationships.
Yes the truth spoken without love can kill. We must be careful how we speak to each other because ill placed words (even if they are true) do hurt; sometimes more so than sticks and stones. We have probably forgotten many accidents and fights from our past, but some injuring words linger to this day.
The Word of God is true and it is,
"...living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:12, 13)
This Word of Truth is an instrument of salvation, consolation and hope for the believers, but the other "edge" of this sword brings condemnation and death to unbelievers. This is what happened to Pharaoh and to many others who hardened their hearts when they heard the truth.
The Word of God condemns sinners and it also kills sin. Paul says in Colossians 3:16:
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" This is the only way to die to sin in and to live for Christ.
Alexander Gonzalez
