Happy Thanksgiving!Today's Reading:
Numbers 14:1-44
"Fear, Faithlessness, and Failure"
Focus Verses: Numbers 14:20-24
20 The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times- 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
Insight:
Moses sent spies into Canaan to explore the land and to evaluate the strength of the cities and the military readiness of the inhabitants. All of the spies agreed that the land was very good and filled with bounty. They all agreed that the cities were well-built, the inhabitants were strong, and that it would be a formidable challenge to invade and conquer them.
The spies were divided, however, when it came to the most important consideration of all -- faith in God. Only Caleb and Joshua (Hoshea) were confident that the land God had promised them could be taken with God's help and power. The fears and doubts of the other ten spies spread among the entire Israelite community and resulted in division among the people, rejection of leadership, and contempt for God.
Moses interceded for the people and God forgave their sin. But because of their spirit of unfaithfulness, God declared that none of the grumblers over twenty years old would ever set foot in the promised land.
Joshua and Caleb had a different spirit -- they had complete confidence in God's power and promise. God rewarded their faith and they were the only two men of their generation to enter the promised land.
Response and Action:
It's one thing to hear God's promises, and quite another to trust in God's power to keep those promises. It's possible to appreciate the promises and feel excitement about the possibilities those promises hold, yet at the same time lose faith in the promise-giver and be overcome by fear. More than just knowing or liking God's promises, I want to have a spirit of confidence and trust that helps me to dive in, take hold, and live out God's promises.
O Faithful and Mighty God, give me the spirit and heart to trust you completely. You have made very great and precious promises to me. Give me the faith to follow and obey you into the full experience and possession of all you have promised. Strengthen me to walk in your promises with full confidence in your power to keep them. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Proverb for Today: Prov.22:4
"Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life."
New Testament for Today: Romans 8:15a
15a For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.
In Context: Romans 8:1-17
Resources:
Be Not Afraid
by David Ivaska
