January 12, 2021
Today, like many days over the last 11 months, I have had periods of heaviness. My emotions range from anger, sadness, helplessness, and boldness. It can change at the drop of a hat depending on the time of day.
I have spent more time in prayer in these 11 months than I have in all of my adult life that I can remember. The state of our world brings me to my knees throughout the day.
But, today's Scripture brings encouragement. It's about putting my focus in the right place. It comes from Numbers 13. We all probably know the story from Sunday school. The Israelites had been delivered out of 400 years of bondage from the Egyptians. They had seen God perform miracle after miracle.
To name just a few:
1. They were brought out of one of the most powerful empires of their day
2. They had witnessed the Egyptians suffer the plagues of the God Almighty
3. They had smeared blood over their doorposts to keep the death angel from killing their firstborn
4. They watched as Moses through God's power parted the walls of water at the Red Sea so that they could walk through
5. They watched these same walls of water crashed down and killed the Egyptian army that was hot on their trail
6. They received miraculous bread from heaven each day-just the right amount they needed for their family
7. They drank water that gushed from a rock
8. They felt Mount Sinai quake
9. They saw this same mountain glow with fire
I mean, they had really been through the ringer, but they had witnessed God's miraculous power time and time again!
So, here we are in our story of Numbers 13. At this point the Israelites are right on the edge of taking possession of the Promised Land! So, God instructs Moses to send them on a reconnaissance mission: spy out the land and come back and report their findings.
Now, I wonder...God already knew what that land was like, was this a "test" to see who would have faith? Something to think about.
So, Moses selects a man from each tribe and ended up with 12 says. This story is a Sunday school favorite, often depicted the large grapes that the spies brought back.
But, I want to focus today on their perspectives. They go Into the land. The Word tells us they were there for 40 days! The journey took them from the southernmost part of the land (Desert of Zin), and took them to the northernmost part of the land (Rehob). This was about 250 miles each way!!! So for 40 days they infiltrated the land, checking out everything there was to see in the land. After all, this was to be their future homeland.
They travelled together, so therefore they witnessed the same things:
-the inhabitants were large of stature
-the walls of the cities were fortified
-the enemies of the Israelites
-the abundance of fruit
-the land flowing with milk and honey
So, they came back to Moses and gave their report. What was their focus? They told them about how good the land was, and they even brought out this gigantic cluster of grapes that the Word tells us took two men to carry on a pole! But, almost immediately they started telling of the negative things: the giants, the fortified cities, the enemies. Only two of the spies stepped forward to talk about the good things! Caleb must have remembered how powerful God was because he immediately chimed in "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." But, he was outnumbered.
Negative self talk and focus won out. "...and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." They appointed to themselves that they were not mighty enough to fight these giants and take their land! They focused on the negative.
How often have I done this over the last 11 months! Focused on what I can't do instead of what I can do! Appointing a negative self view in the process.
"As a man thinketh, so is he." Proverbs 23:7
Our words and our thoughts have power.
What we focus on affects the direction our life will take. If we focus on the problem, we will navigate to the problem. But, if we focus on the solution, we will navigate to the solution.
During this pandemic, life might not be as it was, but...lots of blessings have come from this pandemic.
1. I have discovered I can do hard things
2. I have learned the power of prayer
3. I have learned that I have real friends
4. I have learned the blessing of just being
What blessings have you found during the pandemic?
