Numbers 14 starts off in a very interesting way:
1So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”
Wow. They took a turn down a horrible track. This is the track of “What If”. What if things don’t turn out like we want. What if things get worse.
They were desiring to go back to what they knew as “safe”. Slavery, although horrible, was predictable to them. They knew what tomorrow brought. They felt safe in that bubble. And this new adventure was unpredictable and scary.
Everyday, we seem to want to live our lives in a “safe” way as well. Jump back a few months and watch this clip I posted about “Fighting the Safe Life”.
I am not sure what in our human nature it is, but we always seem to live on the side of over-preparedness. Even if it is something we think God is leading us to, we try to get all of our ducks in a row, and then proceed…Isn’t that then doing things according to our own will and not His will?
I personally believe that everything God is calling you to is insurmountable without Him!
Just think for a moment if the spies would have entered the land of Canaan and instead of giants they found an a group of men that were puny, tiny and could not even muster the strength to lift a sword. If that were the reality – the 10 spies that came back with a negative report would have been singing a different song. Yet, there would have been no demonstration of God’s power in that!
God desires to be the one who battles for you. You don’t have to fight the giants. And besides, if you were to look through the lens and view them as God does – He sees you as bigger and more powerful than anything that stands in your path.
As we finish out Numbers 14, you see God’s wrath against these 10 men and the Israelites were forced into the wilderness for 40 years. What we take away from this is simple, yet profound (and we find it in Hebrews 11 as well):
It is impossible to please God without faith.
Faith is an action. It requires you to step forward into something that you cannot accomplish without Him.
Today, let’s put into action the passion and zeal that we saw in Caleb. Our God is for us, fighting in front of us, leading the path saying “Come, join me, the victory is already accomplished.”
Question: What are you doing to demonstrate your faith today?
