Walk Among Giants
I have been seeing this word - GIANTS - everywhere lately.
And when something is being highlighted to me, I pay attention.
So what is the significance of GIANTS in this season?
I’m glad you asked.
For starters, my favorite NFL head coach, John Harbaugh (whom I affectionately refer to as Johnny) is no longer with the Ravens. He is now the Head Coach for the New York Giants. Yay for the Giants! But I have really wrestled with this on multiple levels. I will spare you my football commentary, but I will tell you this … GIANTS are everywhere … can you see them?
The past several days, the word GIANTS has shown up in mysterious ways all around me. As I “prink” about it (pray and think) I have come to a few conclusions.
I believe there are three types of Giants in our lives:
The Giants of FAITH
The Giants of SUCCESS
The Giants of DESTRUCTION
Let’s take a brief look at each one.
THE GIANTS OF FAITH
This one is honestly my favorite. I study Giants of the Faith because they teach me how to soar - spirit, soul, and body. I say it all the time, but EVERYTHING flows from SPIRIT. Your spirit is the seat of your emotions and the foundation of true success. Identity propels influence. Knowing WHO you are and WHOSE you are is the number one priority in this life. Purpose is birthed in that place. And without purpose, we are “sounding brass” and “clanging cymbals,” according to 1 Corinthians 13:1. Your purpose is ALWAYS connected to LOVE. And LOVE … the kind that truly transforms … can only come from Love Himself.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” - 1 Corinthians 13:1 (NKJV)
The Giants of the Faith are the ones who have gone before us and shown us the path to a purpose-filled life of love. Many are still walking among us today. These are the Giants who inspire me the most.Spirit first, always.
THE GIANTS OF SUCCESS
We can fail at life … or we can succeed. There is always a choice.
The beautiful thing about failure, however, is that the most successful people who have ever walked this earth have failed … multiple times. Failure is a teacher. The question is … will YOU be the student? Or will you allow it to drive you deeper into a pit? Joseph’s life looked like a failure when his brothers threw him into a pit … BUT GOD. Joseph had a dream in his heart that no attack of the enemy - no “failure” by worldly standards - could steal, kill, or destroy. Joseph’s delay was preparation for his destiny.
Success is tricky because the world defines it very differently than God does. To God, success looks like character and integrity, wisdom and honor, and living a life filled with the fruit of the Spirit. These are the standards in the Kingdom. You can have a whole lot of worldly “success” - because Kingdom principles work if you work them - but you will never truly be satisfied unless that success flows from deep and abiding intimacy with the One who knows you best and loves you most.
There are many Giants of Success in this world. Jim Rohn (one of these giants, in my opinion) says it best, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” → Choose wisely. ←
I prefer to learn from those who walk with a limp. They started at the bottom, went through some very hard stuff, and came out stronger on the other side. This is proof that failure was the teacher, and their success is the fruit of not giving up.
Who are you spending the most time with - in person? Online? Who are you studying? What are you learning? Are you changing for the better as a result?
THE GIANTS OF DESTRUCTION
Lastly, Giants of Destruction are within us and around us at all times.
We are in a spiritual war 24/7.
It never stops. It comes at us from every angle.
These are the giants assigned by the enemy to take you (and me) out.
Goliath is alive and active in the earth.
But the good news is that you don’t have to be the biggest or the strongest to conquer him and overcome. You can WIN the battle against every Goliath in your life. Look at David. He had a tiny slingshot and five small stones. People may think the stone is what took Goliath out. I choose to believe it was the GIANT-sized FAITH in David’s heart.
How strong is YOUR faith? Do you BELIEVE you can WIN?
If not, I encourage you to return to SPIRIT first. Find some GIANTS of the FAITH and learn from them, starting with the ones in the Bible.
In closing, maybe I will be a Giants fan this year. I don’t know. Purple is my favorite color, and I have been ALL IN with those Ravens for over a decade. Can I really abandon LJ8 at this time? Not likely. But I will definitely be watching this GIANT of a man - Johnny - do his thing. He leads with passion and purpose, humility and faith.
Be a GIANT in someone’s life today. Study to show yourself approved (2 Timothy 2:15) and learn to lead more than you follow.
This is where impact happens.