Last week we discussed complaining about our situations even though God is blessing us greatly with all we need. The Children of Israel did that on the way to the Promised Land by wanting more than the daily bread God provided. Today they are in another situation…their journey is almost done…the Promised Land is in reach…yet, they hesitate.
One of my very favorite songs is Sara Groves’ “Painting Pictures of Egypt” on her Conversations album. I love it because it is so much like me. Let me give you some of the lyrics:
The past is so tangible I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy To discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
I am caught between the Promise
And the things I know
I've been painting pictures of Egypt,
Leaving out what it lacks
The future feels so hard,
And I wanna go back!
It’s not about losing faith
It’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable
When you move so much
And the place I was wasn’t perfect
But I had found a way to live
And it wasn’t milk or honey
But then neither is this
I have experienced this feeling many times. I have known that God had something for me to experience…something better and amazing and yet I was scared and played it safe…stayed comfortable. God had something better, but in my little mind I could not imagine “better” and so I hesitated. Sometimes I might have even gone forward a bit but the road became difficult so I returned to what was familiar even though it was not a great place to be. Yeah, It was not great but it was something I knew…it was comfortable.
A funny thing happens when looking backwards…memories seem to be better than the reality of what was! Remember how big things were when you were a child? I think often of the story of an adult bemoaning about how when he was a little boy the snow would come to his knees…then he looked down at his son…who had trouble walking because the snow was so high! Memories lie! Things are not always better “then.”
The Children of Israel were at the Promised Land but they got scared. What they saw ahead were “giants” and they began to listen to the babblings of men while forgetting the miracles of an awesome God. They didn’t listen to Moses, Caleb, or Joshua. They began to sing, “We will, we will not be moved!” and once again God gave them what they wanted…they got to stay in… the desert…wandering until they died.
Read Numbers 32: 6-13. Folks, God doesn’t joke around when He says He will do something. He had told the Israelites that He would give them a land…but they didn’t believe Him and there were consequences. The same goes for us today…God has a plan for us and when we trust Him in that plan He takes care of all the details…when we don’t trust Him, we wander in the desert and eventually die without receiving His promise. I don’t want that, and I know neither do you. Note verse 12 in our scripture that state two men, Caleb and Joshua, were the exception. Why? It was because they followed the LORD wholeheartedly. They received God’s blessing…not because they were special…not because they were better…no, they entered because they followed God wholeheartedly. What a lesson for me in trust. It might sound trite, but when God sends us forward, He gives all we need to defeat whatever is before us. When we refuse, we are saying is God cannot do what He said He will do. That is unbelief and unbelief is a sin.
The great thing about living under grace, is that our sins can be taken care of by confessing them and allowing God to renew us…we are not doomed to wander forever…but we are doomed to wander until we confess…
God wants to give us His best because we are His children. Do you believe that? If you do, then what is holding you back from your Promised Land? 40 years later in our story, Joshua says these words to the next generation: “Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” Joshua 3:5 These trusted God and passed into the Promised Land and discovered God was faithful. Let us be that next generation…the ones known by following…not wandering.
Have a Happy 4th of July!
2 comments:
O Cyndi... that is so true. We know that God will guide us but it is so much easier not to step out. And sometimes, for me, I know He is leading but I get so anxious to see what's next that I want to skip today to get there! One day at a time.. . sometimes just a minute at a time. I'm so glad He is still in charge!
Cyndi, you cease to amaze me, no god does through you. I have been dealing with a decision I have to make concerning my service to God. God keeps showing me His direction for me and I keep saying, "well I have to be 100% sure, God give me another sign." I am very comfy with my present service to God. I do the media in our church, sound, video and stuff like that. God has been telling me He wants me to do something else, "But God, I like what I do, and I don't know if I can do that." Well I guess I need to suck it up and just go for it. Thanks for your service to God, it does not go void.
Your Brother In Christ; Mike
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