Today’s scripture reading:
“Please, Lord, prove that your power is as
great as you have claimed. For you said, ‘The LORD is slow to anger and filled
with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not
excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the
entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’ In
keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this
people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.” Then the
LORD said, “I will pardon them as you have requested. But as surely as I live,
and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD ’s glory, not one of these
people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and
the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again
and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. They will never
even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have
treated me with contempt will ever see it. But my servant Caleb has a different
attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him
into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of
that land.
Numbers
14:17-24
Today’s
devotional:
Often we become so
focused on something or someone that we’re unable to hear the Lord. In those
times, one of God’s most effective yet painful methods of getting our attention
is through disappointments. But oh, how we dislike this approach!
Disappointment is
one of the ways God spoke dramatically to the nation of Israel. In Numbers 14,
He directed His people into the Promised Land. However, fear invaded their
hearts and they were scared of the inhabitants, so they refused to enter. As a
result, the Lord told the Israelites they’d “by no means see the land” for 40
years, until after the death of the generation that had been too fearful to
enter (Numbers 14:23).
The postponement was
so disheartening that they decided to change their minds. Sadly, though, it was
too late; God had already settled the issue. And the people were distraught
with grief because of what they had missed.
At that moment, when
they were in the throes of their disappointment, do you think God had their
attention? Absolutely. The next time He gave Israel a command, don’t you
imagine they listened a bit more intently?
Tragically, failure
is rather common in such situations. Instead of looking to God when disappointments
occur, we are quick to blame circumstances, other people, fate, or even the
enemy.
We are hesitant to believe that our loving Father could be responsible for our frustrations. Yet He is willing to use disappointments to realign our thoughts and plans with His. Consider the difficulties you have faced—might the Lord have been trying to say something in the midst of them?
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