by Sandy Kirby Quandt

Do you ever have moments when despair and fear threaten to swallow you whole? I know I for sure have. And according to Numbers 14, so did the Israelites while they wandered in the desert. They forgot an important fact. God is for us.

All it took for the Israelites to lose sight of who God was, and to forget all the miraculous things he had done for them, were reports of giants in the land.

We remember the story.

Twelve spies were sent to Canaan to scope out the land. Of the twelve, two reported that since God was with the Israelites, they could take the land. No problem.

The other ten shook in their sandals, and said no way the Israelites could take the land. The sight of Canaan’s inhabitants instilled despair and fear into them, and the ten forgot if God is for us, nothing one can stand against us.

Fear ran throughout the camp at the thought of entering the land. The people forgot what God had done for them. Caught up in the moment, they allowed emotions to replace truth. They were paralyzed to move forward because they forgot what God had done in the past.

I have a feeling after multiple years of gathering manna every morning, the Israelites may have considered the miracle of food as commonplace, and not given God the measure of awe he deserved for the provision. We do that sometimes too, don’t we? We see God’s hand at work in our lives, and maybe acknowledge it the first or second time. But after a while, do we mark God’s provision off as expected, insignificant, or no big deal?

When something really big comes up in our lives, like facing a land full of giants, do we become afraid? Do we believe falsely because something is big and insurmountable to us it must also be big and insurmountable to God?

I’ve mentioned before what Girlfriend says. “It’s all small to God.” There is nothing too big for the All Sufficient El Shaddai. Nothing. No giants in our land, however they manifest themselves in our lives; be it loss, illness, financial setbacks, prodigal family members, wars and rumors of wars, is beyond our God.

When facing our giants, let’s agree not to give in to our emotional first response of fear, but instead remember everything God’s already brought us through and press on. Knowing if God is for us, nothing can stand against us.

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They said to all of the Israelites, “The land we explored is very good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land and give us that fertile land. Don’t turn against the Lord! Don’t be afraid of the people in that land! We will chew them up. They have no protection, but the Lord is with us. So don’t be afraid of them.” Numbers 14:7-9 (NCV)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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