"But We Can Conquer"

 By: Joanne Viola

 

The past week I have been reminded of the story of the twelve spies sent in to scope out the land. I’m not sure what their problem was, as God had already told them, actually promised them, the land was theirs.

God told them to send men to explore the land (Numbers 13:2) and simply, come back and give a report.

After a forty day exploration, the men come back and reported:

“We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.  But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there …” (Numbers 13:27-28, NLT)

They no longer focused on the land and the crops they had seen, or the lush land which would be good for cattle.

They no longer focused on the fact God had promised them the land, and it was already theirs.

They only focused on the words which came after the big “but” …

• “But the people living there are powerful …”
• “But their towns are large and fortified …”
• “But the people are giants …”

And the fear spread throughout God’s people.

Now before we get too hard on them, we still do the same thing. We know God’s Word, His precious promises to us and yet, we respond with “but” …

• “But my bills are too many …”
• “But my income is insufficient …”
• “But my children don’t want to hear about God …”
• “But my husband is not all I need him to be …”
• “But I am not good enough to do what I need to do …”
• “But the diagnosis is a hard one …”
• “But the relationship is too far gone for restoration …”

And each time we speak the word “but”, fear and doubt take over and hold us back. As we look at the obstacles in our lives which we are facing this week, let’s be like Caleb:

“Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” (Numbers 13:30, NLT)

Caleb, one of the twelve who went to explore the land, saw through eyes of faith what could be accomplished. He remembered God had promised the land to them. He remembered the One who had led this far faithfully.

Let’s be like Caleb and say, “We can certainly conquer it!”

 

Dear Father, we thank You for Your precious Word which encourages us to look at our obstacles through eyes of faith and trust You. Help us as we come to You and admit that at times, we are filled with doubt and fear. “Help our unbelief.” You are our Provider, Our Physician, our Savior, our Protector, our Healer. May the only “but” we speak this week be, “But our God is able to do all things!” In Your mighty and precious Name we pray, Amen.

 

Photo by Jonas Tebbe on Unsplash