“Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord!”— Deuteronomy 1:35-36 ESV
I recently started reading the book of Deuteronomy and it started with Moses telling the Israelites their backstory or history. This was now 40 years after they left Egypt and sadly none of the adults that left Egypt were going to enter the promised land except for Joshua and Caleb.
Forty years earlier after the Israelites left Egypt, they were meant to possess the promised land in about 40 days after. They had witnessed great miracles including the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh’s army. You would have thought that after experiencing God’s greatness in that way, following His commands would have been easy.
The spies that checked out the promised land saw the good things about it but chose to focus on the giants and their limitations as a people. Instead of focusing on God and His greatness, they refused to move forward as instructed. “Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!’” Numbers 14:1-2 (ESV)
Their behaviour infuriated God and this was God’s response after Moses pleaded on their behalf: “Then the Lord said, ‘I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.’” Numbers 14:20-23 (ESV)
Pondering on these passages, I realised that generation of the Israelites perished in the wilderness because they refused to move forward in faith and trust God despite everything He had done for them.
Likewise, no matter what we are facing, God wants us to focus on Him, His Word, and His wonderful deeds and not on the problem or situation. Is God calling you into a new adventure? What is preventing you from moving forward? What obstacles can you see ahead?
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)
Focusing on God and trusting His promises will help us shift our focus away from our fears and giants. And that’s when we start Moving Forward in Faith.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
Hills and Valleys 