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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 swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” Numbers 14:8-9
It had been a long journey for the people of God. After years of captivity they had been rescued from Egyptian bondage after a series of miracles in which Pharaoh allowed them to leave. Now they reached the border of the Promised Land. During the journey God had provided them with fresh water, fresh meat, and shade from the hot desert sun by day and the warmth of a pillar of fire by night. All of this in the face of constant complaining on the part of the Israelites.
Now 12 spies were being sent into the land to scout it out. The excitement these men must have had! This was it! After years of waiting all their dreams were to be fulfilled. They gave their wives and children a final kiss and hug and walked into the land that had been described to them as a ‘land flowing with milk and honey.’
Their mission? To gain information that would be helpful for conquest. What were the people like? What did the cities look like? What was the land like? And perhaps most importantly, ‘Bring back some of the grapes!” Fresh fruit would surely be a treat that most of these people had never tasted!
Imagine what it must have been like for the families who stayed behind. Watching daily for the familiar figures of the men to come over the mountain. Dreaming of having a home again and no longer being nomads; the children excitedly bragging about what they would do once they got there. It must have been a very exciting time.
Finally, one day someone shouts “They’re back!” A cheer erupts as the 12 figures approach the camp loaded down with huge bunches of sweet, ripe grapes. What a celebration must have ensued as the men told stories of what they had seen and the adventures they took part in.
Then, the most important news of all, “What are the people like?” And a hush falls over the crowd. The countenance of the men grows grim. “They are too big,” They speak softly and shake their heads “The cities are walled; the men are huge like giants. A group such as ourselves doesn’t stand a chance against them.”
Women wept. Children stared with disbelief. Men grew angry. The turned on Moses and Aaron first. It was their idea to drag them into the wilderness. Then they turned their anger towards God. It was so much better in Egypt. The food was wonderful. They had homes and good land. Now they were doomed to life in the desert.
In the midst of the chaos two of the twelve spoke up. They had been largely ignored at first as they were the youngest. Now they raise their voices. “Listen! If God is in this, and He’s told us He is, then the size of the enemy doesn’t matter! Don’t blame God. Give Him a chance to show His power. If He is on our side it doesn’t matter how big they are or how tall their walls are. Protection comes from God not men and not buildings!”
The message is the same for us today. When we are walking in God’s way and following His direction and guidance, His protection is upon us. That doesn’t mean we won’t endure the wilderness from time to time. Being a Christ-follower doesn’t exclude us from suffering. What it does mean is that eventually, if we are patient and trust Him, He will bring us to the ‘Promised Land’.
PRAYER: Father God I thank you for the protection you promise us through your Son, Jesus Christ. I confess to you the times when I’ve complained about life and questioned your direction. Forgive me for the fear I have of the giants in my life. Help me to rest on your promise that your protection is with me as I war against the giants I encounter. Amen.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Bad habits. It only takes a few days to learn them and sometimes a lifetime to break them. They hound us day and night. They lurk in the shadows waiting for a moment of weakness on our part so they can pounce on us and cause us to fall…once again.
Sometimes the habits are relatively harmless, like chewing your fingernails or leaving the toilet seat up! Sometimes those habits are life crippling addictions that destroy our reputation, steal our character or obliterate our relationships with people we love dearly.
In order to learn to cope with bad habits we label them and categorize them according to our opinion of their severity. Pornography, anger and drug addiction are bad habits. They hurt people, even kill people. Gossip? Worry? Sarcastic, hurtful comments? Now those aren’t so bad. In fact those can even be funny (we think). In reality, in God’s eyes, they are all the same. They are all sin.
The Apostle Paul was struggling with something. We don’t know what it was. Some think it was a physical ailment, an eye problem left over from the Damascus road perhaps. Others think it could have been something else, a spiritual issue. The Bible doesn’t tell us what it was for good reason.
The problem in Paul’s life wasn’t the issue. The issue was how he handled it. God doesn’t want us to know what Paul’s struggle was. He wants us to realize that all of us struggle. Not only do we all struggle, but the struggle we have isn’t as important as what we do with it!
Every day we need to remind ourselves that failure is inevitable in the human life. God knew that when He first created us. That’s what Grace is all about. Grace reminds us that even though we are weak, in God’s eyes we can be strong. Through Grace God can use our weaknesses for His Glory. Every day He uses ordinary, sinful people for great and mighty things.
You may be ready to give up. You may be tired of falling, getting back up and falling again. You may be thinking “I’ll never be able to conquer this”. That’s good! Once we realize we can’t fight the battle on our own God has us right where He wants us. When we feel our weakest He is ready to jump in and use that weakness as strength.
Once we accept the fact that we are weak the power of Jesus Christ will be able to work through us to tackle life’s struggles and to show others the way to Jesus. Let God’s grace turn your weaknesses into powerful weapons for good!
PRAYER; Heavenly Father, I confess to you that I’m often discouraged by my inability to live the way I want to. Like the Apostle Paul I find myself doing the things I don’t want to do and not doing the things I want to do! I hereby confess my weaknesses to you and ask that You use those weaknesses for Your glory. Work through me to rely on you daily. Amen.
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. Isaiah 25:6
Have you ever noticed how strong one negative comment can be? If 100 people compliment you on a job well done and one person comes along and criticizes your work it can spoil your whole day. Rather than enjoying the encouragement of the 100 you dwell on the negative comment of one person.
Negative comments and thoughts can cripple you and keep you from moving forward in life. Like a thorn in your foot negative comments and attitudes completely halt your progress. People who continue to be negative will hinder your own attitudes about yourself, others and even God! They can take the hope right out of you if you listen.
The prophet Isaiah describes a huge feast that will be held for us who are Christ-followers. It will be a feast with the best of wine and meat. If God is putting on the party you can count on it being a huge party, the best ever. But the blessings we receive from God aren’t just for later. God’s blessings are both present and future.
Don’t let the negative words and attitudes of others pull you down. Stop allowing the worries of the economy, political upheaval and natural disaster keep you from remembering all the good things God is doing around you. Our Father can use even the worst of times for His glory. Even though things in the world seem to be getting worse, for the Christ-follower the best is yet to come!
Enjoy God’s blessings now while you look ahead to the greater blessings He has in store for you. Our Father is preparing a huge party right now and YOU are the guest of honor!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Creator of the universe and sustainer of all things. I thank you for the fact that you see all that is going on around me. There are plenty of negative events, attitudes and people around me who are intent on taking away the joy I have in You. I ask that you would empower me by your Spirit to rise above the negative attacks. Keep me from being affected by those who criticize me and those who preach gloom and doom. Keep reminding me throughout the day of the great things You are doing now and the fantastic party You are preparing for me. I praise you for your greatness and power. You are a good God and all good things come from you. Amen.
The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14
For many people the idea of loving yourself sounds a bit suspicious. This is especially true for Christ-followers who have heard sermons on the dangers of pride and the benefits of being humble. But loving yourself is really the key to having a close relationship with God as well as with others.
Paul summarizes the entire law in one phrase: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. But we can’t love our neighbor until we love ourselves. Loving ourselves means that we are so comfortable with who we are that what others think of us has no bearing on how we feel about ourselves.
Jesus is the ultimate example of love. As the Son of God He knew who He was. That’s why He was able to respond so well to the attacks leveled against Him. Rather than reacting to the attacks in anger or becoming defensive, He responded in love and wisdom.
One of the most well used scriptures about love is I Corinthians 13. We call it ‘The Love Chapter’. The description of love in this chapter should be applied to ourselves before we can apply it to others.
“Love is patient…” We need to be patient with ourselves as we journey through life. Too often we get frustrated when we can’t accomplish a task or we fail once again or we fall into sin. Being patient with ourselves means we work as hard as we can to reach our goals (whatever they may be) while we acknowledge that we are only human. Thank your Heavenly Father every day for the fact that He is patient with you. Your actions and failures never surprise God. He never tires of brushing the dust from our clothes, picking us up and helping us back on the way.
“Love is not arrogant or proud…” Loving yourself means you have a grasp of who you are. You enjoy the gifts God has given you and use them freely and openly for His glory, but, at the same time you realize that your accomplishments are not because of you but because God is using you.
“Love keeps no record of wrongs…” Okay. So you failed again last week. Confess it, repent and ask God to help you do better this time. Loving yourself means that the mistakes of last week are gone! Move on now. Stop beating yourself up. Our Father is ready and willing to forgive you and you should forgive yourself as well.
“Love always protects…” If you love yourself you need to protect yourself. Don’t allow yourself to be put in positions where others can hurt you.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, sometimes it seems like I fail You on a daily basis. I look in the mirror and don’t like what I see. I thank You for loving me as I am, for being patient when I fail, and for forgiving me when I rebel. Help me to live as a child of the King because through Jesus that is who I am! Amen.
So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Genesis 39:20-21 (NLT)
It’s the rallying cry of men and women, boys and girls from almost the time they can first utter words. “It’s not Fair!” You hear it in the voice of a two-year old when they want a certain toy, ice cream for breakfast or are unable to play in the middle of a busy street. You hear it from a teen-ager when the curfew is too early, homework is required to be done, and any rules are expected to be followed. You even hear it from Olympic athletes who are told that they are only second best in the world this time around, not first. You hear it when God doesn’t answer prayers in the time and fashion we desire.
Sometimes it seems like the events of life and the people around us are all stacked against us. We feel like even God Himself just “Isn’t that into us.” We read stories of how this person picked them up from failure to succeed, or how that prayer was answered miraculously by God, or families on the verge of breakup are saved, and we wonder, “What about me?”
The life of Joseph is a good example of someone whose life was anything but fair. He felt the rejection of family when his brothers sold him into slavery. He was wrongfully accused of rape and thrown into prison. Once there, he befriended a couple guys who said they’d speak up for him, but forgot.
It couldn’t have been easy for Joseph. There must have been many times when he could have grown bitter or angry at God or at the many people around him who let him down. But Joseph didn’t do that. Even in prison he was seen by the warden as being a man of character. The skills he learned while in captivity helped him later in life to be one the greatest leaders Egypt ever knew.
It’s hard to admit, but many times when life seems unfair, and we get angry or bitter, it’s because whatever the ‘unfairness’ is makes us feel bad about ourselves. We feel like failures. True, Godly character is seen in a person by how they react when the circumstances of their life are not fair.
When we realize who we are in Jesus the attacks of the enemy don’t affect us as easily. We can rise to the challenge and use the unfair events of life as stepping stones for later success. Starting today, look for ways to allow God to use you in whatever life is throwing at you. Trust Him to take care of the inequities you are being subjected to. Let Him direct your actions to change your world.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, right now there are so many things in life that are making me angry and keeping me from experiencing all you have for me in life. Please forgive me for the anger I have towards you and others. Empower me to use this trying time in my life to show others the great and loving God you are. Give me wisdom t know how to act with Godly Character like Joseph did. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 