Obstacles and Trust
If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ ~Numbers 14:8
When we read about Joshua and Caleb spying out the promised land, we see that their perspective was not the same as the other ten spies. They had what God called a different spirit. They saw the land as exceedingly good and worthwhile. But they also believed that the Lord delighted in them and would bring them into the land flowing with abundance. [Note that it wasn’t their strength that they were relying on to bring them into this new territory, it was God’s.]
The others saw giants, insurmountable obstacles. Even though the land was initially good in their eyes too, they eventually questioned if the risk was worth the reward. They saw themselves as grasshoppers in comparison to the huge obstacles awaiting them. They succumbed to fear. They looked at themselves rather than to God. As they looked to themselves, they became as small (even to themselves) as grasshoppers. Their obstacles grew even more large and threatening as they thought about it.
Caleb and Joshua saw the obstacles too, but they saw God as larger, and more than able to give them this promise of milk, honey, fruit, and beautiful land. These things speak of abundance, blessing and provision.
What we believe about God matters. Paul said, If God be for us, who then can be against us? If God delights in us [and He does] then we don’t have to be moved by fear of our “giants”, whatever they might be to us personally.
We know God delights in us, because Jesus showed us this. When Jesus was born, the angels called him Emmanuel or “God With Us”. This is a God who delights to be with us and who is for us. We also know that while we were yet sinners, God so loved us, He sent His only Son to save us. As we look at Jesus we see a Father who loved, cared, forgave, healed, taught, encouraged, provided. [If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.] Jesus took away anything in our minds that might hinder us from feeling connected to our Father. He took away our sin and our false beliefs about God. He showed us the Father in a beautiful and meaningful way.
God delights in us! As we embark on a new year, what obstacles would you like to put in their proper perspective when placing them beside our big, good God?