If you are familiar with the story of Moses sending twelve spies into Canaan, you may be thinking I mistyped the title. I didn’t. We are all the twelve spies of Canaan. Not the ten that were afraid or the two that got it right. All twelve.
The Mission
The instructions were simple. Moses pulled one representative from each tribe to make up the team. These were all top-notch guys. If there were an Olympic sport for spying, this team would win gold.
Moses trusted them to evaluate the situation in Canaan and return with information on the people, the cities, and the lay of the land (Numbers 13:17-20). At the end of the 40 days, the team returned with mixed reviews.
The Obstacle
All twelve of the men raved over the quality of the land and its wealth. They had no dispute over the abundance of food or the beauty of the landscape. But when it came to the people of the land, two men saw cities ripe for the taking and ten men saw giants. Really big ones. With big scary muscles to squish them with—translated loosely from the Hebrew.
The Reality
Somedays I feel like linking arms with Joshua and Caleb and charging ahead, guns blazing. On those days, God is big, my hair looks great, and nothing can stop me.
But then there are days when giants happen. Big smelly, hairy giants like literary agents, publishing contracts, and marketing experts. On those days I look at my to-do list, I look in the mirror, and I tell God it can’t be done. Maybe if I had an army to help draft amazing query letters and edit my drafts, and a social media guru or two…maybe then I could do it. But just little me against all those giants? I feel like a squeaky grasshopper in comparison, just like the Israelites felt in comparison to their lanky counterparts.
We all want to be courageous and full of faith. We admire the Joshua’s and Caleb’s in our circles, reading books about how to be more like them. But at the end of the day, we go back to the wilderness.
The Wilderness
There are times when we are the ten spies who choose the wilderness. And there are times when we are the two who have to endure the wilderness because of someone else’s choices. We don’t always have an option as to where we sleep for forty years, but we do have a choice in how we use our daylight hours.
The ten and everyone who agreed with them continued to doubt God and complain about their circumstances until they all died. Joshua and Caleb never did. They stayed faithful, humble, and engaged. When God said it was time to go forward, they were ready, strong, and prepared for a fight.
If your circumstances are looking dry and dusty, don’t argue with God about it. Seek His face. Open your heart to personal change. You may not be able to improve your neighborhood, but you can always improve yourself. Lift whatever spiritual weights necessary to prepare yourself for the battles ahead.
Fear does not disqualify you from service. Click To TweetIf your time is now and you find yourself paralyzed by giants, move! It’s okay to be afraid. Fear does not disqualify you from service. Choosing to reject God’s promise over your evaluation of the circumstances does.
God can use you afraid. Remember, the battle is the Lord’s. We simply have the privilege of tagging along for the show.
The Mountain
You’re not going to wake up most days feeling like Joshua and Caleb. You’re going to feel like your bones ache and you ate too much pizza the night before. Feelings are valid, but they are not valid excuses for staying in the wilderness. Feelings adjust as you do just as faith grows as it is exercised.
You don’t have to conquer the whole land before you today. Pick your mountain, make your plan, move forward. The land before you is rich with God’s blessings and presence. He will give you the courage and resources as you walk with Him.
Are you standing outside your Promised Land in fear? Share your circumstances below. We all need encouragement from time to time. Allow others to come alongside you as you pick your mountain and prepare to move ahead.