And all the people of Israel grumbled. Numbers 14:2
The Israelites finally made it to the edge of this promised destination. They would have plenty of water and luscious produce and would stop their wandering. But alongside that was a land that would need to be conquered. It didn’t look like what they thought it would. And they grumbled and complained.
Why did they grumble?
With the good came some hard. Even though God said He would go with them and they would take the land, they were scared. They had some growing and maturing to do in the face of a difficult task.
At the core of their fear and hesitancy was their lack of trust in God. These are the same people that saw God split the Red Sea, pour Manna from heaven, impose the plagues, and provide fresh water from a rock. They had to know that God was capable of delivering the land to them, so it was His character they doubted. Would He keep His promise? Is He faithful and would He go with them into this new place? In other words, we know God is powerful, but is He also good?
As they stood at the edge of this beautiful land, the bounty looked increasingly smaller as they focused on the hurdles ahead - which grew into an impossible task in their mind. It paralyzed them. And they wouldn’t move forward. In fact, they wanted to move back - back to bondage and back to scarcity – because it felt safer.
God was so angry with the leaders that discouraged the people from their promise that He killed them. And He sent the people that listened back to the wilderness. Only Joshua and Caleb, who were able to see the promise and not the obstacles, were spared.
It’s tempting to look at places God is leading and say, “uh, no.” That looks hard and scary and I’d rather not. Worse, I may even warn others not to go! I miss on some promises because I give in to my fear. I forget or doubt the loving and faithful character of God. But more often I hear voices like Joshua and Caleb, or the whisper of the Spirit, and they encourage me – reminding me that God is actually going with me and this is a bountiful new place.
That is how I want to lead - encouraging others to new territory, sharing what good things lie ahead and His promise to be with us. That takes courage. It takes assurance of the goodness of God. I must resist any fear or doubt in my own life, any grumbling, that would discourage God’s people from taking what He has given.
Our ultimate home, our promised land, will be with Him in heaven some day. And I can’t wait. But there are also lands to conquer here. New areas of influence, Footholds in my life to overcome. New and renewed callings. God has promised to go with me and in fact dwells with me through the Holy Spirit. May I rally onward ahead knowing the character of Him who guides me.
Do all things without grumbling or disputing,that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Philippians 2:14-16
