Today’s Scripture: Numbers 13-16
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.” – Matthew 21:21
In Numbers 13, we arrive at a memorable and melancholy moment in the life of the people of God. Just when they were about to set foot in the Promised Land, they turn back from the borders of Canaan and are sentenced to wander and perish in the wilderness for their sin of unbelief and their complaining spirits.
You remember the story. Twelve leaders were dispatched to spy out the land. They had been charged with the responsibility of finding out whether the inhabitants of the land were strong or weak; whether the land was good or bad; whether the cities were fortified or simply a cluster of tents; whether it was a bountiful land. After forty days, they returned.
Their report? “The land… does flow with milk and honey… but the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there… people of great size… We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
When the Israelites heard this, they broke out in shouts of fear and dismay. The Bible says they forgot God and despised the pleasant land. They murmured in their tents and didn’t listen to the voice of the Lord. They saw the task and they saw themselves, but they didn’t see God. And from that perspective it all seemed too much.
Some things in life are too big to handle without the Lord. But with Him, you are able to see that difficulty in light of His power, to claim what He has promised, and to possess it.
Prayer
Lord, I want to walk by faith and not by sight. Amen.
To Ponder
God delights in overcoming great obstacles for us when we step out by faith and rely on Him.
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