Friday, April 17, 2015

April 18, 2015

“That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Numbers 14:1-4

There is so much wrong with these statements I hardly know where to begin.

One obvious lesson is you never make decisions when you are in a poor state of mind and panic qualifies as a poor state of mind.

Let me show you what I mean.

Even in their panic mode they admitted that God had led them to this place. And I quote, “Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?

Frankly, they were in a MUCH worse spot on the shore of the Red Sea. They were backed up to the sea with the Egyptian army bearing down at full speed. If there was ever a time they would die by the sword that was it! But they didn’t because God opened up the sea!

If God could deliver them from that army by opening up the sea for His people and then closing it on His enemies, would He not also be able to overcome the giants in Canaan?

Sure he could!

So, their own words indicted them!

If that was the worst of it that would be bad enough, but it gets worse!

Not only did they fail to have faith because of what God had already accomplished, but they presumed on Him at the same time!

What do you mean, Brad?

Think about it! Review this statement, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Just as they could not have arrived where they were without God’s protection and provision, neither would they make it back across the desert to Egypt without His provision!

So, they apparently had faith He would lead them BACK but couldn’t believe He would lead them forward. The same God who opened a SEA can’t split a RIVER?

In case you may think it doesn’t take faith to go back, here is an illustration to the contrary. But it is presumptive faith not prevailing faith.

Do you see what I mean?

How’s your faith?

Is it presumptive faith or is it prevailing faith?

Can you believe God has brought you this far?

Why would you fail to believe He can take you further?

What part of “Red Sea” don’t you understand?


April 17, 2015

“That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Numbers 14:1-4

Why all the panic?

They had just received the report of the twelve spies on the perils of the Promised Land. There were giants over there!

Although there were two versions of the report, they chose to believe the one offered by the ten spies rather than the faith-driven opinion of Caleb and Joshua.  When you believe a false report you are going to end up in fear.

I share this story because it illustrates how easy it is to become entrenched in and attached to comfort even when the comfort zone is a desert.

The fact that we can become comfortable with life in a desert should be enough reason for concern. But for the past forty years God had led them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. God had fed some 6,000, 000 people every day for four decades with manna from heaven and given them water from a rock. For forty years their clothing and their shoes did not wear out.

I think it is fair to say they had grown comfortable with God’s power and provision as He fed them and fought their battles.

So you would think that now they stood on the verge of entering the Promised Land, they would have been excited about following Him into Canaan to claim their destiny. But the thought of a new adventure was uncomfortable to them.  A more comfortable thought was to retreat back to slavery in Egypt.

Such is the power of comfort! In times of doubt or fear the known becomes more comfortable to us than the unknown even when the known is a desert and the unknown is your destiny.

God had delivered them from the cruel bondage of the pharaoh. And God had opened the Red Sea to lead them through on dry ground!

Why could they not trust Him to bring them safely into the Land of Promise?

Think about it! If they would choose to trust Him in this one more uncomfortable challenge of crossing the Jordan and conquering the Promised Land then they would know comfort and safety for the rest of their lives.

But, they wanted to elect a new leader and retreat to the comforts of the past. Obviously, they must have assumed that God would continue to feed them and give the water as they headed back to slavery.

That begs the question, “If they could trust Him to provide for them on their trip BACK, why wouldn’t they trust Him to provide for their trip AHEAD?

The past was familiar and familiar is comfortable.
I love to be comfortable. I have as many comforts as I can afford. But I don’t want to become a captive to comfort. I don’t want to ever become more comfortable in the past than I am in the present. I don’t want my comfort level with the desert keep me from capturing my destiny.

I want to learn from the mistakes of Israel here in Numbers 14.

I want to learn to listen to the “Calebs” and the “Joshuas”.

I want to remember that the God Who led me TO the Jordan River can lead me THROUGH the Jordan and into His promises.

I want that for you, too!

I want that for FredWes.

There are some giants in our future.

It will require some risks to reach the next great thing God has for us.

When the time comes to stare down the giants and weigh the risks, I pray we won’t retreat to a comfortable past. I pray that we will remember all that God provided to get us this far. I pray that we will recognize His presence with us now. And I pray we will reach from His promises ahead. I pray that whenever we become uncomfortable with what He calls us to, we will learn to find our comfort in Him.