Quiet Time Bible Reference: Numbers 13:26-33
God had a plan to give the people a new place to live. It was an amazing place. A town that flowed with milk and honey. That may not mean too much to us today, so to put it into perspective, it would be like a town that has vast resources and opportunities to do business that would help families maintain a good quality of life. A town that has multiple fully stocked Whole Foods Markets and Trader Joe’s. A town where residents enjoyed community activities and reaped the goodness of their neighborhoods. God said that it was in his plan to give that type of town to the people who he led out of slavery from Egypt. All he wanted to be done is for the leaders of the people to go and scope out the land. It sounds like everything was lined up for the people to step into a new season of their lives that would pale in comparison to their old life in Egypt. It was, but they had a hard time claiming what God had reserved for them.
Moses did as God instructed and assigned the leaders to check out the Promised Land. They went for 40 days and here’s what they were supposed to evaluate:
- Residents: are they strong or weak?
- Residents: are there few or many?
- The land: is it good or bad?
- The towns: are they unwalled or fortified?
- The soil: is it fertile or poor?
- The trees: did they have them or not?
- Action item: bring back some fruit from the land
Do we think that God really wanted to know these things? Nope. God was very familiar with this land. He’s the one that selected it for his people–he actually created the land. He wanted the leaders to see it for themselves.
When the men returned, they reported back that the land was indeed abundant with resources and a great place to live. However, there were some that gave a report based on a mindset of fear. They mentioned that there were large people in the town, too powerful for them.
“But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” Numbers 13:31-33
What lack of faith. What skewed perception. What grand assumptions. What fruitless thinking. What a relatable experience.
Sometimes God will set you up for your next season that may look scary. Perhaps it looks too big to accomplish or even too challenging to tackle. This doesn’t mean that it must not be the right plan for you or that it’s time to abort the plan and pursue something easier. If God has it in his plan, he will prepare you and ensure that you are equipped to grab hold of what he has on reserve for you. Yes, there may be giants to face, but that only causes us to need God, to rely on God, to count on God. He wants us to pursue that thing with him, not on our own. And when we do, we win. God is bigger than those supposed giants.
I want you to know that I had to write this but for me too. Sometimes God’s plan makes me wonder if he meant to pick me because the giants in the plan can seem COLOSSAL. So I, just as much as others, need to be reminded that God is bigger than any giant. Here are a few scriptures that help keep things into perspective…the perspective of God.
“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
1 John 4:4
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
ACTION ITEM
This is a practical that Joshua was instructed to do in order to succeed as he walked towards the assignment given to him by the Lord.
“Keep this Book of the Law [the Word of God] always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8-9
Rise & Shine Bright.