Strength to Strength - Day 2

We are all familiar with the Bible story of David and Goliath. We recall how a faith-filled and courageous young boy saved Israel from their powerful enemy. David only had a slingshot and a few stones. But his anchor was his unshakeable faith in His God. God used David’s strengths to kill the giant Goliath with one aim. He named his strength, he claimed that God can use it, and so he aimed his strength for the kill. That story reminds us that we too can boldly defeat the giants we face by putting our trust in the Lord. The battle we face is not ours but the Lord’s. Victory can be a reality. God gives us abilities and strengths, and he uses what we have in our hands to overcome our obstacles.

The Bible tells us another story about facing the giants. In Numbers chapter 13 of the Old Testament, we read about how God instructed Moses to send 12 men to explore the land of Canaan which He would give to the Israelites. This is the land of milk and honey, the promised land.

Let’s read about what happened:

²¹ So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. ²² They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³ When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,^[a] they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. ²⁵ At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.

Report on the Exploration

²⁶ They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” ³² And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. ³³ We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

(Numbers 13:21-33)

What strikes you about the story? If you were one of the 12 men sent to explore the land, what recommendation would you have given to Moses? And if you were Moses, which report would you believe?

I can very well relate to this story in many ways. The Lord has promised in His Word, the Bible, that He is giving us an abundant life and a good future. He says in Jeremiah 29:11,

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

However, when circumstances become challenging, when I become uncertain of the future, when events happen that I did not expect, or when I perceive people as threatening or opposing me, I begin to “seem like grasshopper in my own eyes”. I put the obstacle right before my very eyes, so now it becomes a formidable giant. And then I realize that, if I had only stepped back a little and see the obstacle in a wider perspective, I would see that my God is so much bigger and so much more powerful than all these obstacles and giants I perceive.

Try it yourself! Put your right hand so close to your eyes that you can hardly see anything else. How big does your right hand seem to you? Now gradually, push your right hand as far away from your eyes, still at the same level as before, and begin to see your right hand as part of the bigger picture you see around you. Is your right hand still as big as when you were looking so closely to it?

Our God is big! He is the God of the universe! We are mere grains of sand in His hand (way smaller, actually).

His concept of time is past, present, and future all at the same time. So, He knows what is going to happen to us before we can even imagine it.

God sees and feels our fears and our anxieties. He loves us just the same. But He keeps inviting us to respond in faith when troubles come, He would like us to be a Caleb who said to Moses, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

In the story, why was Caleb confident?

• His starting point was knowing who His God is. He recalled the miracles of God to rescue them in the past. Caleb believed that God is unchanging in His ways and worthy of his trust.

• He knew himself and his strengths. Caleb was self-aware. He knew that his strengths as a fearless and strong leader could contribute to the greater good. He saw himself as an active participant in the story rather than as a passive spectator.

• He knew the situation well. In the 40 days that they explored the land, he gathered as much information to help him plan out the attack. He had a strategy in place (we could read more about this in the book of Joshua 14:6-15)

• He chose to maximize opportunities that lay before them, rather than dwelling on their limitations.

• He chose to see the giants from God’s perspective, rather than from his. In the people’s view, they were grasshoppers to the giants. In God’s vantage point the giants were grasshoppers to Him.

Read and reflect on these verses. Which one is speaking to you today?

Romans 3:10, 23

"As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Psalm 103:14

"For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust."

Romans 8:18

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

James 1:2-3

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."

1 Peter 5:10

"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

Ephesians 2:10

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Here are 2 interesting words. How do these relate to embracing our brokenness?

Poiema. This, is used in the bible to mean workmanship. We are God's work of art, His masterpiece. We have been crafted with talents and skills for a purpose, by God, for His purposes, specifically as stated in Ephesians 2, we are "created in Christ Jesus to do good works."

Kintsugi. This is a centuries-old Japanese art of repairing broken pottery and transforming it into a new work of art with gold. The name of the technique is derived from the words "Kin" (golden) and "tsugi" (joinery), which translate to "golden joinery" or "golden repair". The scars and cracks of the broken ceramic become the focus and turn the object into something unique and exquisite.

Transcript of MY STORY by Monette Santos-Fider

Responsibility. Achiever. Connectedness. Relator. Individualization.

I wrote this poem in the mid 90s. I had no control over my life, and I didn't care what happened to myself either. I let myself go numb. The only reason I did not jump overboard the ship to take my life was because of the thought of my kiddos. So, I asked God for help. What I didn't realize then was that I did not surrender completely. I did not give Him all my broken pieces. So life continued as I learned to compartmentalize all the roles I played. My CONNECTEDNESS was probably telling me that all will be well, but perhaps I was not in touch with reality. My ACHIEVER made sure I continued to give 100% at work, regardless of my family situation.

It wasn't until 4 years later that I finally got the strength and courage to fight back. As he (ex-husband) held me by the collar of my shirt, lifting me up and banging me against the wall, something just came through me, and I swung at him with a mean right punch on his face. All 220 pounds of him flew back, hit the other wall, and slid down to the floor. Both of us were in shock. But, enough is enough. My numbness had to stop. The emotional and physical abuse had to stop. Flying furniture had to stop. Children witnessing this had to stop.

A year later, or 5 years after writing the poem, things got worse because he could not deal with an empowered woman. Things got from bad to worse, and he asked our eldest daughter, who was 12 at the time, if she wanted us to separate or not. She answered with these words: Minsan oo, minsan hindi...because you are always fighting. Then he went to the bathroom, took the insecticide, came out to us, sprayed it in his mouth, and collapsed with froth coming out of his mouth. One can only imagine what havoc was happening here. With the help of neighbors, we carried him to our vehicle, and I drove him to the Emergency Room.

He lived, of course, but we went our separate ways. That was the beginning of my journey as a single mom to 5 children 3 to 12 years old. And, eventually, a single mom of a single mom. And then, I continued on to have an irresponsible relationship with someone who had recently come out of a life sentence in bilibid (national prison).

Broken. Broken.

We have all these scars in our lives so that we can be broken and repent - not to be proud, but to be humble. The Lord wants the obedience of the heart. When you are completely broken and you pray from your broken heart, God heals you. Yes, God heals us. I cannot brag about raising my kiddos single-handedly. It is only by mercy and by His grace that God chooses to forgive me and save me. Not by my deeds, but by His grace.

And so I give Jesus all my broken pieces because He continues to work on the masterpiece that I am. He has already planned what He wants to do with our lives. He has a unique plan for each of us to serve Him in this world. I am turning my mess into a message of love, joy, peace, compassion and hope.

Oh, remember the irresponsible relationship I had with someone? I married him! God works in mysterious ways! His is another story of embracing our brokenness! See you at our Live Zoom Community!

Guide Questions for Reflection

1. How does embracing your brokenness change the way you view your strengths/talent themes?*

2. Read the barrier labels of your Top 5 Strengths. How have you seen them play out in your own life?*

3. Meditate on Ephesians 2:10. Spend your time in prayer, bringing to God your brokenness, past pains, and disappointments. Surrender all to Him, trusting that He will eventually restore you to your original intended purpose.

*If you are not yet aware of your strengths/talent themes, use this as your reflection guide:

1. How does embracing your brokenness change the way you view what you are here on earth for?

2. Where do you need God's help in restoring your authentic self, so you work towards His will & purpose for you?

It is a wonder what God can do with a broken heart, if He gets all the pieces.

- Samuel Chadwick