“Then the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.’” – Numbers 13:31
God had promised the land of Israel to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob hundreds of years before this moment. God had rescued Israel from the strongest country in the region and miraculously destroyed its fearsome army. God now repeated His promise to Israel and commanded them to go, take the land, and enjoy blessing. But they refused.
Twelve spies went into the promised land and reported back about what they’d seen. They all agreed it was a truly good land. But the people who lived there were tough. Strong armies. Fortified cities. Giants!!! All that was certainly true. However, when the God Who devastated Egypt promises He’ll give you the land, you should go forward in faith. Only two of the spies felt that way. The other ten spies scared the people of Israel into refusing God’s command. And His blessing. All the adults of that generation, except for the two faithful spies, would live the rest of their lives in the desert because of their refusal.
God wasn’t going to make the giants disappear but He was certainly going to give Israel victory over them. They just needed to obey and move forward in faith. This is a timeless principle! When God commands you to do something, He’ll make it happen for His glory. It doesn’t have to make sense to your human calculations and estimations. You just need to believe and obey in faith.
Jesus commanded us, all of us, to make disciples as we’re going about our going, introducing people to Jesus and teaching them to obey Him. We often make excuses about why we can’t, don’t, or won’t. We hide behind family, work, money, stress, time, age, health, etc. Giants!!! Things we surely can’t figure out on our own. Of course we can’t! But God the Son has told us to do it anyway and promised He’ll be with us as we do. Our giants won’t go away but He’ll give us victory over them if we’ll believe and obey. When we do, we experience enormous blessing. When we don’t, we miss out on some blessings forever.
What giants keep you from obeying Jesus? Are you willing to move forward in faith? Trust that Jesus is with you and #FollowJesus