Numbers 14:7-9
New International Version (NIV)
7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 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. 9
Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people
of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but
the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
1 Samuel 17:45-47
New International Version (NIV)
45 David said to the
Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I
come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46
This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you
down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of
the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole
world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47
All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that
the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of
you into our hands.”
After reading these two passages of scripture I want to jump up and shout, "Yeah!, The battle is the Lord's! I can do anything God assigns to me!" That's an easy thing to say when life is going easy, but then the car breaks, work get slow, people you love get hurt, or some other bad thing happens. It's not so easy to be courageous then. The three men were in bad situations though.
Joshua and Caleb explored a land that had a larger population, better weapon technology, and were bigger and stonger (they called them giants) than the Israelites. God gave them the task of defeating these people and taking over their land. Everyone else in the group that scouted out the land with Joshua and Caleb was too frightened to wage war with these people.
David was to visit his brother on the front lines of battle with the Philistines. While he is there he hears Goliath, a 9' 9" giant, challenge anyone to a 1on1 fight to the death to decide the battle. Nobody else in the Israelite army dared to accept this challenge.
What about these men made them courageous compared to everyone else? They trusted in the Lord.
Joshua and Caleb trusted that when the Lord says he will give us this land that it means he will give us this land. Doesn't matter what the people living there look like or how much better their weapons are. David knew that the Philistines would be defeated by Israel and since the challenge to decide that was first to defeat Goliath, then that is what was going to happen. The difference between these three men and "the crowd" was the way they looked at the situation. These three men looked at the situation through God's perspective.
Recently my car is in desperate need of repairs. My first thought by human nature would be "Great, there goes my savings account!", but if I look at it in God's perspective it would be " I'm blessed to have enough in the savings account to pay to fix my car!"
So when life isn't going as planned. When if feels like the walls are falling in. When God gives you a difficult mission. Read these two passages and receive some courage to take on the giants of your life.
After reading these two passages of scripture I want to jump up and shout, "Yeah!, The battle is the Lord's! I can do anything God assigns to me!" That's an easy thing to say when life is going easy, but then the car breaks, work get slow, people you love get hurt, or some other bad thing happens. It's not so easy to be courageous then. The three men were in bad situations though.
Joshua and Caleb explored a land that had a larger population, better weapon technology, and were bigger and stonger (they called them giants) than the Israelites. God gave them the task of defeating these people and taking over their land. Everyone else in the group that scouted out the land with Joshua and Caleb was too frightened to wage war with these people.
David was to visit his brother on the front lines of battle with the Philistines. While he is there he hears Goliath, a 9' 9" giant, challenge anyone to a 1on1 fight to the death to decide the battle. Nobody else in the Israelite army dared to accept this challenge.
What about these men made them courageous compared to everyone else? They trusted in the Lord.
Joshua and Caleb trusted that when the Lord says he will give us this land that it means he will give us this land. Doesn't matter what the people living there look like or how much better their weapons are. David knew that the Philistines would be defeated by Israel and since the challenge to decide that was first to defeat Goliath, then that is what was going to happen. The difference between these three men and "the crowd" was the way they looked at the situation. These three men looked at the situation through God's perspective.
Recently my car is in desperate need of repairs. My first thought by human nature would be "Great, there goes my savings account!", but if I look at it in God's perspective it would be " I'm blessed to have enough in the savings account to pay to fix my car!"
So when life isn't going as planned. When if feels like the walls are falling in. When God gives you a difficult mission. Read these two passages and receive some courage to take on the giants of your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment