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經文：「我們在那裡看見亞衲族人，就是偉人。」（民13:33） 是，他們都看見了亞衲族人，但是迦勒和約書亞所看見的卻還有神！疑懼的人說：「我們不能上去。」（民13:31），相信的人卻說：「我們立刻去得那地罷，我們足能得勝。」（民13:30）；在屬靈的意義上，亞衲族人代表著艱難；無論是任何地方，我們都能看見有亞納族人在昂首闊步。無論是在家庭裡，在教會裡，在社會與生活裡，甚至在我們自己的心裡，都有必須戰勝的對象，否則就會像以色列人口中的亞衲族人一樣「吞喫」我們（民13:32）。 有信心的人說：「他們是我們的食物，是可以吞喫的。吞喫以後，我們會變得更加強壯。」；但是，除非我們有戰勝的信心，否則還是很容易被巨人打敗。所以先讓我們擁有迦勒和約書亞的信心，並專心仰望神，神必定會使我們勝過一切的困難。--選 甚麼時候會遇見亞衲族人？只有在我們忠順的時候，才會遇見他們。正如當初以色列人預備前進的時候，才需要面對亞衲族人；而當他們決定回到曠野的時候，就逃離了面對。 就像保羅前往羅馬傳道的時候，按照人的想法，大能的神一定會保守他一路平安，脫離所有仇敵和風雨的侵害。可是事實卻相反：他遭受猶太人的逼迫、狂風大浪的摧殘、毒蛇的危害，歷盡地上和陰間種種的功擊。最後總算蒙了拯救；浮在一塊破損的船板，漂到了瑪他海岸 Malta ；僅僅逃過了葬身魚腹。 難道全能者真是一位這樣的神嗎？是，祂正是這樣的神。所以保羅告訴我們：當他接受主耶穌基督作他生命的主時，立刻就有激烈的爭戰發生，並且是不斷發生。但是他總是倚靠主的力量，在凡事上得勝有餘。 他描寫這段經歷的字句極為生動：「我們四面受敵，卻不被困住；心裡作難，卻不至失望；遭逼迫，卻不被丟棄；打倒了，卻不至死亡。身上常帶著耶穌的死，使耶穌的生，也顯明在我們身上。」（林後4:8-10） 保羅的奮鬥是多麼地持久又費力啊！這幾節聖經在原文中更是有力，光用中文或英文都很難將它翻譯得貼切。以下用五幅連貫的圖畫來說明： 在第一幅圖畫，我們看見許多仇敵從四面八方湧來，卻不能把他壓傷，因為天上的使者替他清出一條走道讓他通過。照字面直譯應該譯作：「我們四面受擠壓，卻不被壓傷。」 在第二幅圖畫，我們看見他四面的出路都被封閉了，但是他卻仍舊能走出去，因為有神的光照指示他當走的路。更正本譯作：「心裡困惑，卻不至絕望。」，羅得罕 Rotherham 翻譯得更接近原文：「沒有道路，卻不是沒有出路。」 在第三幅圖畫，我們看見一個仇敵緊緊地追逐著他，但同時神仍在他的身旁保護他，所以他並不孤獨。我們仍採用羅得罕的翻譯：「被追逐，卻不被丟棄。」 到第四幅圖畫就更生動了；仇敵已經追上他再毆打他，甚至將他打倒。但是他所受的並不足以致命，所以能夠再從地上爬起來。也可以譯作：「擊倒了，卻不被克服。」 這些圖畫一幅一幅地播放，現在到了第五幅；死亡臨到，使保羅「身上常帶著耶穌的死」。但是他並不被死亡克服，因為他藉著「耶穌的生」活著，那是主自己的生命。 在我們中間為甚麼有許多人得不到這樣的醫治？因為我們總是希望不用奮鬥就得到醫治；一旦面對的爭戰延長得久些，就會因為沮喪而投降。我們應該知道：在神那裡的一切，沒有一件是容易獲得的；因為在天上沒有廉價品；正如天父為了拯救我們，不得不割捨祂最寶貴的獨生子；凡是有價值的事物，都是需要代價的；而艱難正是造就我們信心和品格的工具。 曾經摩西看見荊棘被火燒著，卻沒有燒毀；我們就像那荊棘，雖然魔鬼不時地對我們潑冷水，但是站在我們的身後的天使，持續地添上燃料使我們的火光永不熄滅。 神所親愛的受苦的孩子阿，只要你肯信靠、堅持，又拒絕向仇敵投降，你是不會失敗的。--Taract 新譯｜荒漠甘泉讀書會
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Scripture: "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 wilderness 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 missionary journey to Rome, Paul would have been carried by some mighty providence above the power of storms and tempests and enemies. But, on the contrary, it was one long, hard fight with persecuting Jews, with wild tempests, with venomous vipers and all the powers of earth and hell, and at last he was saved, as it seemed, by the narrowest margin, and had to swim ashore at Malta on a piece of wreckage and barely escape a watery 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 persistent, but out of which he always emerged victorious through the strength of Jesus Christ. The language in which he describes this is most graphic. "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; 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, strenuous 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 utterly 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 literally 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 Defender still stands by, and he is not left alone. Again we adopt the fine rendering 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, "Overthrown 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 mere 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 travail 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 demon ceaselessly poured water on it, because in the background stood an angel ever pouring oil and keeping the flame aglow. No, dear suffering child of God, you cannot fail if only you dare to believe, to stand fast and refuse to be overcome. --Tract. ｜ Mrs. Charles Cowman
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