Day 4: In spite of
The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat Me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?” (Numbers 14: 11).
Our Father, Your word is right and true; You are faithful in all You do (Psalm 33:4). Joshua, who succeeded Moses as leader of Your people knew this, and in his farewell address to them he told them: You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed (Joshua 23:14).
In spite of this, their hearts were unbelieving, and they rebelled against the Lord (Numbers 14:1-9). They treated You with contempt, by refusing to believe in You in spite of all the signs You had performed among them (Numbers 14:11).
Their history gives us pause—as we examine our own hearts for unbelief and rebellion, complaining and contempt. We too, often grumble and complain in spite of Your goodness and Your faithfulness. We too, put qualifiers around your blessings, and limits around your promises as they did in the account:
[Those sent to explore the land] gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there..." (Numbers 13:27-28).
Father, forgive us. We know that "Every word of God is flawless..." (Proverbs 30:5). What You have said You will accomplish. Teach us to trust You implicitly in the face of contradictory human "evidence," believing Your word that tells us, "Let God be true, and every human being a liar" (Romans 3:4). We dare not rely on our own distorted vision and that of those around us, as Your people did:
They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:32-33).
O Lord, it wasn't the land that devoured them—it was their fear and refusal to believe You. Keep us from a similar attitude of unbelief. You have given us so much evidence of Your goodness. Even as we walk through this difficult life we have Your promise that You are with us. Help us not to treat You with contempt—grumbling, complaining, and refusing to believe Your great and precious promises.
Teach us to walk by faith lest our sight betray us into preoccupations with grasshoppers and giants—consumed by the knowledge of our own limitations and by the magnification of barriers and obstacles. Teach us to keep focus in spite of all that surrounds us. Teach us to trust only in Your wisdom and Your guidance, remembering Your great mercies with gratitude in our hearts.
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