The Lord told Moses, "Send men to explore Canaan, which I'm giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of their ancestors' tribes." Numbers 13:1-2
Opportunity Or Obstacles
They told Moses, "We went to the land where you sent us. It is a land flowing with milk and honey, and the cities are enormous.
Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses.
Caleb said, "Let's go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it."
The others said, "We can't attack those people! They're too strong for us!"
So, they began to spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored.
What influences you the most, the opportunity or the obstacles?
Joshua and Caleb were influenced by opportunity, call, and destiny.
The obstacles influenced the other ten spies.
It isn't that Joshua and Caleb denied the obstacles; they didn't allow the barriers to influence their pursuit of the opportunity.
If we dive deeper, we will find that Joshua and Caleb were moved and emboldened by God's promises and their faith in His faithfulness.
In contrast, the other ten spies were frozen and disheartened by fear or by God's comfort and known hand, who fed and clothed them daily in the wilderness.
Too often, we settle when we are told to go.
Which influences you the most, opportunities or obstacles?
What is God calling you out of to bring you into what He desires for you to encourage others?
What temporal refuges are you currently sequestering yourself within?
Lord, You have placed a great adventure before us, walking with You! May today be the day we are willing to lose sight of shores, climb new mountains, and risk temporal comforts. Amen