Step into the story with me.
They had been a slave for generations, but now they had been free for two years. Two years they have been learning how to trust in their Leader, but all too often two years is not enough. They are standing right in front of their paradise, their promised land and they are succumbing to the situation. They are starting to look back on their past with fond memories, instead of seeing it for what it really was.
Now is the time.
They are to go and look at what they will be rewarded with. They are to go and see exactly what needs to be done in order to achieve their new life of freedom living. They go and come back with conflicting reports. Ten are overwhelmed with what lies ahead. Two are confident that God will do for them what they cannot do and through Him they will have success. The ten, the naysayers, bring discouragement upon the entire camp. Their voices ring loud with the feelings that were already brimming in from their wilderness camp out. The excitement from the journey of being set free was wearing off and all any of them could think about was returning to their former life of slavery. It did seem much easier. For what any of us remember about that life is illusionary, unless we are diligent with the truth. They do not want to hear about how life can be different. They do not want to hope any longer. So in order to stop the voices who are reaching for the promise, they pick up stones to beat them into silence. (Numbers 13-14)
I have found myself within this wilderness journey. It is one of the hardest parts of my traveling life, learning to live obediently. They had journeyed for two years and during this time they had a job. They were building and sewing together, each one with his specific assignment. But now that part of their training was coming to an end and they were ready to go back to the only thing any of them had ever known. God works differently. It wasn't time to go back, but to move forward. For me, my wilderness camping lasted almost one year. One year and now I was to marry the man God had chosen for my life. One year of trying to learn to listen to the correct voice. One year of trying to do things differently, but often stumbling along the way. One year of trying to make him flee. The naysayers are all around and trying to decipher truth between their voices and my own messed up voice within was almost deafening. So often we pull away in order to hear better, but the truth is that the naysayer within only becomes louder. We feed the voice that appears to be easier, instead of taking that hard and terrifying step to say "I do".
It is hard to step forward. It is so hard to take that arm and trust that where you are being led is a good place. The promise land was right in front of them and God was telling them to Go, but the voices of the defeatist was screaming No! And they were defeated for they stopped. They were too afraid of the challenges they saw before them. For man, let me tell you, what you are promised does not mean you do not have to work. They were promised a land flowing with milk and honey and they were standing within reach of grasping their reward. They tasted the fruit and they held their large bounty between them, but ultimately, what we harvest, we are first going to have to plant. He will give us samples, but He does not want a lazy bride and His bride needs to show Him appreciative love. He needs to allow her time to see that she can trust Him. He needs her to see that if she will step forward, He will do the heavy lifting, but she needs to learn to battle for them. But, these people, chose not to listen. They chose to turn and go the other way, a way that was to take them 40 years to journey. A way that would ultimately take most of them to their grave.
As we travel on this path of life, who are we going to listen to? Are we going to listen to the naysayers, those who cannot understand why we would want to go His way? Are we going to do the hard work in order to gain our reward? Are we going to take those hard steps forward to accomplish our goal? Whatever we are called to do, it is never always easy! I so often want to give up and turn around. I do not want to go back into the slavery that I once knew, but I so often want to believe the lie that a different path would be better. But I cannot. I cannot turn from what He has placed in front of me. I know that whatever He has for me in this life is much better than anything I could manufacture on my own. I must trust. I must push through the trials and continue in this fight. I must battle to to accomplish what He has ultimately already won. For really, my life is not about me! It is about others who are on this journey with me and am I helping them to see what He has in store for His people, or am I becoming part of the opposition, part of the naysayers? How am I leading? Am I leading by a good example of endurance, or am I part of those who give up? For whatever I am doing, others are following... No matter what! Its not about me... It never is!
Continue! Do not give up! You can do it! What is the path He has for you? If you will continue to take those steps forward toward His desire, I promise, you will never have those same regrets other paths have taken you down. Continue! Do Not Give Up!
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