Last night I had a new assignment to read Numbers 13.

This is the story of Moses sending out the leaders of each tribe to search out the new promised land. This sounds like a Vacation Bible Story and nothing really of note right???

Wrong…there’s so much going on here…so much but one thing that really spoke to me personally was the ending.

Let’s go through it…first off the story starts with God speaking to Moses and saying…Send out the leaders to check out the land I’ve promised you.
Okay…sounds simple enough….except for answer me this…when was the last time God spoke to you about something like this….how about if you are in need of a home…or a new car….what if you were in connection enough with God that he just said…hey…why don’t you go out this Saturday and look at that house you liked so much…I’ve promised it to you…so go check it out…

Now…when you think of it in that context…makes you think….anyway…keep going…next we get into this long line of leaders and where they are from and so forth. All of the leaders are choosen and they make their way to the new land. Once in the land they are to check it out.
Moses is wanting typical information

If there are people there, see if they are strong, see if they have cities or just a few tents, does it look like we’ll get to walk in and rule the place, or do we have a fight on our hands…see if the land is going to be desert or has potential? What’s growing there? Is it comfortable, what’s the weather like kind of questions.

Anyway, they go…and the come back with a report….they are strong, with fortified cities, there are MANY of them…and the land is amazing with fruit and is pretty much…cream of the crop.

Well….after this discussion Caleb is the first to say….(paraphrasing) Rock ON! Sounds like God gave us this amazing land…I’m hungry and sick of being in the desert…LET’S GO!

NOT so fast…the rest of the group determines…they are too strong….we have no way to fight them!!!

The first way they doubt God is to look at their personal position. Meaning…here are a bunch of desert dwellers….they are a motley crew to say the least…they can hardly get along with each other much less fight as a team….they are smaller in every respect and are going to go up against established and obviously well secured communities!!!!

The reality of their weaknesses hit them…and hard! The realized they were not physically capable of taking on this task.

HOWEVER, God did NOT tell them hey here’s your promised land…make sure you go make alot of babies…and see if you can steroid them up…cause you’ll have to fight for this land…and oh by the way….see if you can get some heavy weapons you have GOT to get this over with quickly…these dudes are NOT gonna let you just take their home.

NOPE…God never said that…he just says the land is promised. They begin to focus on ALL that they are NOT and ALL that they are lacking instead of the promise of God.

I have done this so many times in my life…I can’t even count!!! This is the kind of revelation I’m talking about in life. When a circumstance comes up in my life…something in front of me….I have looked at what I do NOT have to offer…and what I’m up against…and in many cases I’ve run.

However, this is a valuable lesson….they not only defeat themselves mentally without even so much as one battle! They also deceive the people by telling them the land is no good and is filled with Giants!!!!

What another lesson!!!! What is it that we are afraid of because of our own fear of failure! I’ve had times in my life where I’ve NOT tried something because I was afraid to fail in front of my son again! I wanted my son to see a facade of a perfect mother…however, as much as it is unrealistic…now unrealistic is it to not show my son that you are to act on FAITH! In spite of my lack or abilities….moving in the direction that God leads me…period.
One example was smoking…I hid it for years…then he found out and I didn’t quit for a long time…why? Because I thought it was worse for him to see me fail at quitting then to actually QUIT SMOKING!

YES…I know it sound completely illogical, but that is exactly what I did! Until recently…and I’ve been motivated to stay quit by wanting to show him….if I have faith that God’s given me the ability to quit and stay quit…I need to walk it out…and remain quit. Showing him that under the help and power of God even I can quit something so addictive.

I never liked this story, never had much use for it before, but this assignment just showed me how much I could learn from one old boring story.

I’ll share more later, this is just a simple one…but just an example. of the kinds of stories I want God to reveal to me….and to any of you that want to study along.