In Numbers 13 the Lord told Moses to send leaders from each tribe to spy the land of Canaan. In this story, twelve spies go into the land. The twelve returned with the fruit of the land and reported what they saw.
The report went like this, “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.”
Of the twelve leaders who came back, only Joshua and Caleb believed they could take the land as God has promised. This was a pivotal moment in the history of the Israelites. Fear and Faith were in opposition. The men that went to explore the land spread a bad report among the people and said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are…the land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw are of great size…we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
[shareable cite=”@terrylamasters”]Fear will always exaggerate the circumstances in an attempt to diminish faith.[/shareable]
Possession of the promise of God, the land of Canaan, would have to wait due to the failure of the leadership allowing fear to guide their decision making. Wandering, delay and deferred fulfillment were results for the next forty years.
Moses dies, and Joshua is installed as leader of the people. The generation ruled by fear and doubt has all died away except Joshua and Caleb. The people are to get ready to cross over the Jordan river and possess the promised land. Joshua sends out two spies into the land and gives them the following directions, “Go, look over the land…especially Jericho”.
Consider the scene. This is a place that Joshua has been to before. He has spyed and explored the land forty years prior. He is at the place where fear and doubt stopped him and his people from possessing the land that God had promised. Joshua is given a chance to change history. To rewrite history at the place of doubt and fear.
[shareable cite=”@terrylamasters”]Fear, doubt, and failure don’t have to be your promised land. Grace allows you to rewrite history.[/shareable]
Maybe you have been like the Israelites and made decisions that caused a delay in you possessing what God has promised. Maybe fear has replaced faith. The good news is that fear, doubt, and failure doesn’t have to be your promised land. You have the ability, thanks to the grace of God, to rewrite history. Not only your history but also the history of your generation. Here is what I learned from Joshua, Chapter 2.
1. Willingness to go where God is directing will have a direct effect on my success. Ask yourself, am I willing to go into the walled cities? Joshua sent the two spies into the land and specifically asked them to explore Jericho. They went knowing the danger and possible circumstances they could face. We don’t know much about these two men, but we do know they were men of faith, men of integrity, and men of understanding. They were willing to go. Are you willing to go where God is directing?
2. Authentic moves of God are recognized by the “unchurched.” Rahab, a prostitute, living in the city of Jericho has a conversation with the spies. She says “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us…” When you go where God is directing, you are an extension of His work. Authenticity reveals the true nature of God and opens the doors for conversations with people who need to hear and be saved.
3. God is ever present and involved in activity on Earth. Rahab makes this statement, “When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” God is not just God in heaven, but He is God on the earth. He is not ethereal or absent from activity on the earth. He is present and moving in the lives of His people. He is real and abiding to see His people move into all that He has promised them.
Allow God to move in your life today. Allow Him to guide and direct you into great things. Rewrite history!
