March 17
Numbers 14
Psalm 35:1-8
Proverbs 8:14-16
Mark 14:1-26
The Lord is With Us
“Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes, and said to the entire Israelite assembly, ‘The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” Numbers 14:6-9 NIV
The people in Canaan were giants and they were numerous. The spies who went into Canaan realistically saw their opposition. They accurately described what they had seen, but they did not have an accurate interpretation of their circumstance. They were leaving God out of the equation. They had watched as God delivered them from Egypt, through the Red Sea, fed them with manna, and led them to the land He had promised to give them. Now they thought they were on their own to possess it. God promised Abraham that His descendants would possess that land and God is faithful to all His promises. Joshua and Caleb alone recognized that “the Lord is with us.” They believed that God would do what He had promised to do. They were ready to go in and possess the land. Unfortunately, the Israelites refused to listen to them and spent the next 40 years wandering around in the desert. Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who had the privilege of stepping foot into the promised land and receiving their inheritance.
How often do we leave God out of the equation? We have seen God do amazing things. We have watched as He provided for us, delivered us, and answered our prayers. And yet when we are asked to step out in faith and believe He will accomplish His purposes in our lives, we look at our giants and shrink back. We accurately see our circumstances as we view the mountain of difficulty before us, but we leave God out of the equation. We fail to recognize that “the Lord is with us.” Step out in faith today and do not be afraid.
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