There Are Giants In The Land

I used to find it ironic that God would tell the Israelites that Canaan was a land He had given them, yet it was not empty. In fact, it had giants, seemingly terrifying ones at that. And He knew that, and still He led them there and expected them to not only fight these giants but to conquer them. And He never stopped calling it their land even though there were other people in it who also believed it to be theirs. Anyway, we will get back to this…

The way I got an attachment placement for my university degree was a miracle. I told you all about it in my previous blog post (you can check it out here if you missed it.) There are, however, some things I didn’t know about this organization or department I was going to be working under that makes this miracle even more miraculous although it also came with its fair share of giants.

Let’s do a bit of a background, shall we…

In Zimbabwe, as with many African countries, there are many tribes in one nation and more often than not, these tribes tend to fight for dominion, authority, land, opportunities, political power and so forth. There is then usually one tribe that ‘wins’ this battle, so to speak, and has more political power, dominion and opportunities for its fellow tribesmen. In Zimbabwe, the Shona tribe, which is my tribe, is one such tribe, I would say. Still on the same analogy, on the other hand, of all the other tribes that remain, there is usually one strong tribe that tends to boldly oppose the ‘powerful’ tribe. In Zimbabwe, that is the Ndebele tribe, which has its own region in the country where it is most prominent and that is where I lived and also now worked.

Politically speaking, there was (& probably still is) some bad blood between these two tribes, as is expected, due to some previous frictions, civil wars and other forms of political things I have no business talking about here. I am sharing all this to share that the organization I was now working for was formed primarily to create opportunities for the Ndebele tribe and it was well established from its inception that only Ndebele people would be hired in this organization & no other tribe. So, not only was I not from the Ndebele tribe, I was from its arch-enemy tribe, the Shona tribe and not only that, my Ndebele fluency was not that great and it came with a healthy amount of Shona accent…#sigh

This in itself is a miracle because ordinarily I would have never been hired in this organization just because I was not from the required tribe but I got hired still…

Let’s now talk about the department I was now going to be working under…this was a very new department-it had been introduced a month before I started working there so it was just me and my boss in that department when I got there. Much like me, her interview had been with the CEO and not the HR team. My boss was amazing at her job, so she was definitely an asset to the company and the CEO knew that. In fact, prior to joining this company, she had been the Country Director of a very prominent global Non-Governmental Organization and she had, unfortunately, just lost her job to the tribalism I mentioned earlier. According to her, because she was from the Ndebele tribe yet working in a Shona-prominent region, the Shona people in the organization could not accept her as their leader and constantly plotted to oust her and eventually successfully did so. Meaning that joining the company where she was now my boss was her first step forward in her career after that dramatic ordeal.

Again, this is a testimony that a completely new department that had never been in existence before in this organization was fleshed out by God for both of us to get some form of restoration and progress in our individual walks. Even more inspiring was how my boss had studied the degree I was also studying towards so seeing her success motivated me to look forward to a bright future.

Anyway, at this point, I think it goes without saying that there were people in the organization who were not happy about how we both got hired directly by the CEO unlike the rest of the employees in the organization. There were those who thought the department was unnecessary and then those who questioned why a Shona girl was hired and also why, after their years-long loyalty to the organization they were not the ones assigned to head this new department, if at all it was necessary. There was then some subtle hostility and constant jibber-jabber about many small things like ‘why my boss was parking her car in the executive parking spot’, ‘why she got that specific office and not a lesser-than one since her department was new’, ‘why she had access to this or access to that’ and every other petty jibber-jabber you can think of!

It also didn’t help the situation that my boss was a feisty woman so when someone came for her, she was willing and ready to go guns blazing toe to toe with them for her own vindication. Don’t get me wrong, she was a very kind, humorous and loving woman, who especially loved me, favored me and worked very well with me (another testimony), but you wouldn’t step on her toes and expect no retaliation. No, you wouldn’t! Needless to say, this unnecessary banter went on for months and it never truly directly imparted me beyond my capacity to ignore it and move on with my life, (or so I thought) so I didn’t pay much attention to it or pray about it because I was naive enough to conclude that it was none of my business until this one time…

Another bit of background…Because this organization did not pay its interns including me, any allowance, there was an unwritten policy that if an opportunity that can potentially pay interns a bit of money arises, the interns to take part in that opportunity would be considered according to when they joined the organization. Meaning if you joined first, you would be considered first and that if they needed more than one person, the next person would be considered in that criteria…

When I joined this organization, I was the first intern to be hired then and much later, six or so more interns were hired. And only just a week after the new interns joined the organization, a well-paying opportunity arose and yes, the person who was in charge of determining who would be assigned to that opportunity was the most vocal of my boss’ arch-enemies (if we can just call him that.) And, yes, he assigned every other intern except me to the project. When I say a well-paying opportunity, I really mean well paying. This is an opportunity that paid between USD$400 to USD$800 per day depending with the activity of the day and where they went to do it. This, at that time, was a looooot of money in the Zimbabwean context (and still is). For perspective, that USD$400 was even my dream internship allowance for the whole month then and it even seemed like I was being too ambitious.! This project was carried out daily for three weeks which meant the other interns in the organization walked away with nothing less than USD$6000! #Selah

I remember one bought a car, another started a business, another bought the latest iPhone and a wardrobe update with some change, another bought cows (an all-time symbol of wealth in Africa, of course lol), another paid the rest of their university fees and I don’t know what the rest did with their moneys. Meanwhile, I, who was supposed to have been considered first before anyone else in this project, got ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! So, while my fellow interns now afforded going out for lunch every day, I would stay behind and warm my rice in the company microwave when they were gone. My boss even once asked me why I never went with others to get lunch to which I would just casually say, ‘it’s because I will have already brought in home cooked meals so there is no need.’ At some point, she took it upon herself to start sending me to buy her lunch so she could add mine as well in her budget. I bet she just felt sorry for me because she barely ate the food she sent me to buy for her. 🙂

The day my boss discovered what had happened in that said project, she got so livid that she confronted this man to which he smugly responded that he actually needed more people in that project that he ended up not getting after all and it turns out he had just ‘forgotten’ I existed! ‘Forgotten‘?! He looked for people through out this organization and ‘forgot‘ I existed? I remember holding back my tears when I heard him say that. He was unrepentant and displayed a sense of satisfaction with his ultimate win and despite my boss’ motherly “how can you be so vile and vindictive yourself so cunningly over petty fights and disadvantage this little girl like that?” questions, this man remained adamant that it was an honest mistake, he had just forgotten me and there was nothing more to the story…

Ephesians 6:12-18 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.[f] 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

My goodness, what levels of disadvantage and pain and loss you will experience on this earth if you do not take authority over the new territories you will get to enter. I cannot stress it enough how much you will always be a victim if you do not take authority over the new seasons of your life.

Job 38:12-13 “Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place,
13 So that light may take hold of the corners of the earth, And shake the wickedness out of it?“

This verse let’s us know that with each new day, there is a need to command light in and wickedness out. In other words, if not done, the new day will not have light and wickedness will pretty much stay. I would like to believe that this is applicable to every form of newness just as a morning signifies the newness in a day. It really doesn’t matter that you have just reached the ‘promised land’, there are giants in that land that you need to displace. Whenever you enter a new season and you do not command it to align with the purposes of Yahweh, you essentially give permission to that season to align with whatever else is willing to align with it, and more often than not, that willing thing is of a contrary spirit.

This is why I was a victim in this situation, I just assumed that because I had gotten this opportunity miraculously and that my boss was a lovely woman who was actually nice to me that all was well with me. The enemy successfully stole money from me very easily under the guise of office politics. Even when I could sense some tension, I reacted to it with a very carnal and unbothered ‘what is it to me’ attitude.

The word of God let’s us know that we are in this world, but not of it and because of that many systems are generally opposed to us unless we take the authority we have to step on those scorpions and serpents.

John 15:17-18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.“

This verse doesn’t say ‘might hate you’, it guarantees the presence of the hate!

Also, just because God wants you in a new season or territory does not mean, you can not miss out on it. There is a whole generation of Israelites that died in the desert and missed out on their promised land because they refused to take authority over the giants that were currently occupying their land. God literally brought them to a land they acknowledged flowed with milk and honey but they died without living in it. Do not let that be your story. Do not be careless either with your new seasons and assume that no one is contending for that new season you have entered. This, of course, is not to get you paranoid and expecting the devil in every good season to come taunting and haunting you because you are in a new season. It is rather to say take authority over a season and territory before you even need to fight any devil. Almost like how you always lock your doors without necessarily expecting that a thief will definitely come at 2 am. It is just a wise preventive measure in case they actually do come…

As I conclude, here is my exhortation, when you go to a new hotel room for vacation or business, pray over it, when you go to a new city, pray over it, a new house, pray over it, a new job, pray over it, a new marriage, pray over it, a new business, pray over it, a new nation or continent, pray over it, a new ministry, pray over it…The giants in that new land are more than ready to resist you out of it so don’t make it easy for them to do it. You might never ever see physical giants but events that just conveniently work together against you like someone finding fault with your boss and costing you USD$6000, but trust me, there are spiritual hosts of wickedness that inspire people’s behavior some times. It is never about what it appears to be in the natural, realize the spirit behind people’s actions and super-impose the authority in Jesus’ name over those crazy situations before they even dare to ruffle you. It is seldom ever about the person who attacks you or inconveniences you, life is spiritual. Learn to discern the strategies that keep you victorious wherever you find yourself and one of them is to make authoritative decrees over things.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Let Us Pray

Heavenly Father, I pray that even though I am not of this world, I have authority over the territories and seasons you allow me access to. I go ahead of the enemy and announce You to have your way in all the new territories I enter. There is no principality or power or ruler of darkness that does not bow to the authority in Your name, therefore I enter every territory with your name as my password and I decree that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof for He has founded it upon the sea and established it upon the waters and I announce to every new season and territory that lift up your heads o ye gates (of new territories and seasons) and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors for the King of Glory to come in, the Lord Strong & Mighty, the Lord Mighty In Battle, He Is The King of Glory. I know this brings me victory, I know this shakes wickedness out of my new seasons and commands the dawn to know it’s place and light to come in. Thank You Lord for not leaving me helpless against the enemy that seeks to keep out of my promised land. I will not die in deserts, I will dwell in safety in my promised land. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.