Let Us Go Up at Once and Possess It Primary Text: Numbers 13:25 – 14:8 Emphasis verse 13:30 Additional scripture: 2 Peter 1:3; Romans 8:37; Revelation 3:8; Hebrews 11:1-3 Numbers was written to tell why Israel did not enter the promised land immediately after leaving Mount Sinai. The primary message of numbers is clear: gods people progressed forward only by trusting him and his promises and by obeying his word. Although passing through the wilderness was necessary for a season, it was not God’s original intention that the wilderness test the prolonged so that a whole generation of Israelites live and die there. The short journey from Mount Sinai to Kadesh, however, became a 39 year affliction and judgment because of their unbelief. Placing our thoughts and actions within the commands of God has been difficult throughout our lives. It is a difficult thing when the world whispers so much that only what you can see is what is real. Our eyes are born blinded to what God has in store for us. It takes an act of faith to give ourselves over to what we cannot see in order to experience what God already knows for us to be true.
Throughout life, it is easy to place our thoughts with the majority and believe that what we cannot see does not exist. When faced with what is right in front of us, we fear, we worry, and we believe our past is the only thing that matters. It is what defines us when we doubt. Our enemy likes to plant those seeds in our mind to deter us from understanding what God wants from us. When we have given ourselves over to noticing how small we are compared to the world, compared to the giants out there who would devour us, compared to other churches who do things differently, compared to the rest of the world who looks to be consumed by evil, our doubt clogs our mind’s ability to place our thoughts into God’s promises. God sees what we will become. He sees the small seed that you are and the future that He will bring from you. You only have to start small. Place a little faith in Him. Continue to exercise that faith and it will grow. In the great hall of faith in Hebrews 11, the people mentioned were not always faithful. They had doubts as well but they did not give up nor return to their old ways. You must not give up either. Continue to place your faith in the everyday practices that God desires for you. Do not expect to tower over the world immediately. God allows the growth to occur in you at His rate, not yours. Believe Big Joshua and Caleb’s faith was not in their smallness but in the greatness of God who had fulfilled all His promises to them so far. Why would they not believe they would be delivered into the promised land by God? For comments and prayer requests, please use the following email address: Evanfga@gmail.com