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Faithful or Faithless
Tim Savage30But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”
31But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”32So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. Numbers 13
12 men survey the same cities, but come back with completely different reports. One group of 10 said that the land was beautiful and fruitful but strongly protected by giants. The other group of 2 said that because of God’s promise anything was possible and the land could be taken. One group was faithful, the other, faithless. The 10 men relied on their own strength and knowledge. The 2 understood that their God was a God of miracles and His power surpassed all understanding. Joshua and Caleb saw exactly the same thing as the others: they saw the walled and fortified cities and the giant warriors, they saw, but they believed in God’s promise.
When I “survey the land” do I see walls and giants or do I see God’s promises for my life? Do I rely on my strength and knowledge and make decisions based on what I think is comfortable and convenient? My mind wants to convince me of only what is realistic and practical, but my heart and soul wants to release me in to the arms of my Heavenly Father. Joshua and Caleb knew it wouldn’t be easy, they knew the task was more than they could humanly handle but they also knew that they weren’t to rely on their own power and strength. Am I like the group of 10 or the faithful 2? The faithless doomed their nation to decades of desert wandering, while the faithful were rewarded for their steadfast belief. I want to be faithful and believe in God’s promises. I know there are obstacles and walls ahead but I, like Joshua and Caleb, know that anything is possible if I have faith in God.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the promise of a future and a hope. In You all things are possible. I will choose to be faithful even if I am in the minority, even if the crowd shouts me down.
In Jesus name,
Amen
