(Text: Numbers 13: 30- 14: 9)
Romans 8: 28 say, in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. Rightly, in every situation God has specific plan and purpose which is for the good of His people like us. But, there is a problem when we don’t understand the detail of God’s plan and purpose. Moreover, it is impossible for us to understand every detail of God’s work in our daily activity unless He revealed it to us.
The Bible says, in 1 Cor. 1:25, for the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. God knows what is good for us and we only need to put our trust in Him for every single incident of our life. So, there is a tension between God’s plan and human struggle.
Numbers chapters 13 &14 talk about three important truths; (1) the sending of spies to explore the land of Canaan which is given to the Israelites for their homeland, (2) the spies’ report which cause confusion and much struggle among the people, and (3) God’s punishment for their unbelief or mistrust in His power.
From this story we can learn three important lessons; (1) God has specific plan for our future and destiny, (2) Human struggles and sufferings are due to lack of faith in God’s power, and (3) God demands total trust and submission to Him.
1. God has specific plan for our future and destiny.
God has promised the land of Canaan, a land of prosperity and peace to His own people, and they were about to step in to that land. God requires them first to inquire and explore the land before they step in there. Those selected leaders from each tribe of Israel went through the promise land and know thoroughly about the land and the people. They were very excited to see the productivity of the land. Two men have to carry a single cluster of grapes. God has planned for our future and our destiny. Jesus said in John 14 that he was going to the Father to prepare a room for us, Amen. He also gives us peace sufficient for our daily life. How good our God is!
2. Human struggles are due to lack of faith in God’s power.
In spite of God’s plan for our future and destiny we struggle a lot. We have gone through so many sufferings and disappointments. The Israel people were disappointed and were discouraged due to misunderstanding and confusion. Now, those who went first to the land of Canaan came back and give their report. Even though they were very much excited about the landscape of Canaan and the productivity of the soil, they failed to see God’s wisdom and power. When they saw the people in Canaan they were frightened. They said, “we can’t attack those people, they are stronger than we are…we seemed like grasshoppers…” They failed to recognize God’s power that led them out of Egypt, and failed to trust in the name of the Almighty God. For this reason, their report frightened all the people of Israel. There was confusion among them and many of them stop trusting their leaders- Moses and Aaron. When we look at our own strength and stop to trust in God there comes the danger of creating more problems and confusion. God’s mission and the success of the church’ activity do not depend on human strength but on God’s power.
3. God demands total trust and submission.
When there was much confusion among the people and they were very much disappointed to hear the report, Joshua and Caleb said to them, if the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land…do not rebel against the Lord. The Lord is pleased when we put our trust in Him and submit everything to Him. Trusting and submission to God means living for Him alone, or depending on Him alone. When we live for Him alone and put our trust in His power we can be relieved from many disappointments and misunderstandings, because He will be pleased and will lead us into victory.
Therefore, let us be reminded that God has specific plan and purpose in every situation of our life. He only demands us to believe and trust in Him and submit everything to Him alone. If He is pleased with us He will take care of everything and will definitely lead us into victory in spite of our weaknesses and limitations. Let us not look at our own strength and ability, and let us not look down upon each other. Rather, we should look upon the Lord, and pray for each other for the success of our church’ mission and activity. The success of our mission and our individual daily life depend not only on our own strength and ability, but on God’s power and wisdom. So, what we need is trusting in the Lord.
May God bless you and help you to trust in His power and wisdom.
