"There we saw the giants." (Num. 13:33)
Yes, they saw the giants, but Caleb and Joshua saw God! Those who doubt say, "We be not able to go up." Those who believe say, "Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able."
Giants stand for great difficulties; and giants are stalking everywhere. They are in our families, in our churches, in our social life, in our own hearts; and we must overcome them or they will eat us up, as these men of old said of the giants of Canaan.
The men of faith said, "They are bread for us; we will eat them up." In other words, "We will be stronger by overcoming them than if there had been no giants to overcome."
Now the fact is, unless we have the overcoming faith we shall be eaten up, consumed by the giants in our path. Let us have the spirit of faith that these men of faith had, and see God, and He will take care of the difficulties. --Selected.
It is when we are in the way of duty that we find giants. It was when Israel was going forward that the giants appeared. When they turned back into the wilderness1 they found none.
There is a prevalent idea that the power of God in a human life should lift us above all trials and conflicts. The fact is, the power of God always brings a conflict and a struggle. One would have thought that on his great missionary2 journey to Rome, Paul would have been carried by some mighty3 providence4 above the power of storms and tempests and enemies. But, on the contrary, it was one long, hard fight with persecuting5 Jews, with wild tempests, with venomous vipers6 and all the powers of earth and hell, and at last he was saved, as it seemed, by the narrowest margin7, and had to swim ashore8 at Malta on a piece of wreckage9 and barely escape a watery10 grave.
Was that like a God of infinite power? Yes, just like Him. And so Paul tells us that when he took the Lord Jesus Christ as the life of his body, a severe conflict immediately came; indeed, a conflict that never ended, a pressure that was persistent11, but out of which he always emerged victorious12 through the strength of Jesus Christ.
The language in which he describes this is most graphic13. "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed14; perplexed15, but not in despair; persecuted16, but not forsaken17; cast down, but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be manifested in our body."
What a ceaseless, strenuous18 struggle! It is impossible to express in English the forcible language of the original. There are five pictures in succession. In the first, the idea is crowding enemies pressing in from every side, and yet not crushing him because the police of heaven cleared the way just wide enough for him to get through. The literal translation would be, "We are crowded on every side, but not crushed."
The second picture is that of one whose way seems utterly19 closed and yet he has pressed through; there is light enough to show him the next step. The Revised Version translates it, "Perplexed but not unto despair." Rotherham still more literally20 renders it, "Without a way, but not without a by-way."
The third figure is that of an enemy in hot pursuit while the divine Defender21 still stands by, and he is not left alone. Again we adopt the fine rendering22 of Rotherham, "Pursued but not abandoned."
The fourth figure is still more vivid and dramatic. The enemy has overtaken him, has struck him, has knocked him down. But it is not a fatal blow; he is able to rise again. It might be translated, "Overthrown23 but not overcome."
Once more the figure advances, and now it seems to be even death itself, "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus." But he does not die, for "the life also of Jesus" now comes to his aid and he lives in the life of another until his life work is done.
The reason so many fail in this experience of divine healing is because they expect to have it all without a struggle, and when the conflict comes and the battle wages long, they become discouraged and surrender. God has nothing worth having that is easy. There are no cheap goods in the heavenly market. Our redemption cost all that God had to give, and everything worth having is expensive. Hard places are the very school of faith and character, and if we are to rise over mere24 human strength and prove the power of life divine in these mortal bodies, it must be through a process of conflict that may well be called the birth travail25 of a new life. It is the old figure of the bush that burned, but was not consumed, or of the Vision in the house of the Interpreter of the flame that would not expire, notwithstanding the fact that the demon26 ceaselessly poured water on it, because in the background stood an angel ever pouring oil and keeping the flame aglow27.
No, dear suffering child of God, you cannot fail if only you dare to believe, to stand fast and refuse to be overcome. --Tract.
六月二十九日
“我们在那里看见亚衲族人，就是伟人”(民十三：33) 。
是的，他们看见了亚衲族人，但是迦勒和约书亚所看见的只是神！疑惧的说：“我们不能上去”(三十一节) 。相信的却说：“我们立刻上去得那地罢，我们足能得胜”(三十节) 。
在属灵的意义上，亚衲族人是代表艰难；无论在什么地方，我们都能够看见有亚衲族人在高视阔步。在我们的家庭里，在我们的教会里，在我们的社会生活里，在我们自己的心里都有；我们必须战胜他们，否则他们就会象以色列人所说的迦南地的亚衲族一样“吞吃”我们(三十二节)。
有信心的敢说：“他们是我们的食物；我们可以吞吃他们。吞吃了他们以后，我们会变得更强壮了”
事实是如此：除非我们有战胜的信心，否则便会被他们吞吃。让我们有迦勒和约书亚的信心来专心仰望神，神必定会顾念我们一切的困难。——选
只在我们忠顺的时候，才会遇见亚衲族人。我们看见：当以色列人预备前进的时候，才有亚衲族人出现；当他们转回往旷野去的时候，就没有了。
一般的想法，以为神的力量可以使我们免于患难，实则神的力量常把我们放进患难中去受考验。
保罗往罗马去传道的时候，照人想来，大能的神一定要祝福他一路平安，脱离一切仇敌和风雨的侵害。可是，事实适相反：他遭尽了犹太人的迫害，狂风大浪的摧残，毒蛇的侵噬，一切地上和阴间所有的攻击；最后总算蒙了拯救——驮着一块破损的船板漂到了米利大海岸——只仅仅逃免了葬身鱼腹。
难道全能的神是这样的神吗？是，正是这样的神。所以保罗告诉我们当他接受主耶稣基督作他生命的时候，立即就有猛烈的争战发生；这种争战是永无止息的，但是他屡次倚靠主的力量，在凡事上得胜有余。
他描写这段经历的字句极为生动：“我们四面受敌，却不被困住。心里作难，却不至失望。遭逼迫，却不被丢弃。打倒了，却不至死亡。身上常带着耶稣的死，使耶稣的生，也显明在我们身上”（林后四：8/10）。
保罗的奋斗是多么持久，多么费力啊！这几节圣经在原文里更是有力，中文英文都难以将它译得达意。这里有五幅连贯的图画。在第一幅里，我们看见许许多多仇敌从四面挤着进来，却不能把他压伤，因为天上的使者替他澄清了一条走道让他过去。照字面直译，该译作：“我们四面被挤压，却不被压伤”。
在第二幅图画里，我们看见他四面的出路完全被封闭了，但是他却仍旧能走出去；因为有神的光指示他当走的路径。更正本译作：“心里困惑，却不至绝望”。罗得罕(Rotherham）译得更近原文：“没有路，却不是没有侧路”。
在第三幅图画里，我们看见一个仇敌紧紧地追逐着他，同时仍有护卫的神站在他的身旁，所以他并不孤独。我们再采用罗得罕的译文：“被追逐，却不被丢弃”。
第四幅图画更活泼生动了。仇敌已经追上了他，打了他，并且将他打倒。但是他所受的却不是致命的伤：他能够再从地爬起来。也可以译作：“击倒了，却不至被克服”。
这些图画一幅一幅地前进，现在到了第五幅，死亡临到了他——“身上常带着耶稣的死”。但是他不能被死亡克服，因为他借着“耶稣的生”，活着主自己的生命。
我们中间，为什么有许多人得不到这样的医治呢？原因是为了我们总希望不用奋斗就得到医治；当我们的争战延得久长一些，我们就会由沮丧而投降。我们该知道：在神那里的东西，没有一件是容易得到的；天上是没有价廉的物品的；因着给我们的救恩，神不得不割弃他最宝贵的独生子；凡是有价值的东西，件件都是需要代价的；艰难是造就我们信心和品性的工具。
从前摩西看见荆棘被火烧着，却没有烧毁；我们正如那荆棘一样——虽然魔鬼不时地向我们浇上冷水，在我们的后方却立着一位浇油的天使，不停地在添上燃料，使我们的火光永不熄灭。
神的亲爱的受苦的孩子啊，只要你肯信靠，坚持，不允许仇敌来克服你，你是不能失败的。
收听单词发音 |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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persecuting
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的现在分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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vipers
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| n.蝰蛇( viper的名词复数 )；毒蛇；阴险恶毒的人；奸诈者 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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graphic
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| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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defender
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| n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人 | |
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rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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travail
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| n.阵痛；努力 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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aglow
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| adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地 | |
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