Numbers 14:17-18
New International Version (NIV)
“Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’
For meditation
- Do you know what real strength is? Do you know that it doesn’t reside in your physical ability, verbal prowess, position, wealth, connections, or influence?
- Do you remember the Lord’s anger after the rebellion of the Israelites in reaction to the Canaan Exploration Report (Nu. 14:1-4)? How did Moses intervene?
- What did Moses mean by the “Lord’s strength” when he appealed to God for mercy? Did he not mean that God’s strength is in His slowness to anger, love, and forgiveness (17-18)? So, do you see what real strength is?
- Do you realize why Christ was able to save us? Was the cross not a display of God’s love (Rm. 5:8) and forgiveness (Lk. 23:34)? Was it not how He defeated Satan?
- So, do you realize what real strength is? Is it not the inherent power of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)? Do you realize, then, why they are part of what Paul calls, the weapons of the believer’s warfare, which are not carnal, but have divine power to demolish strongholds (1 Cor. 10:3-5)? Isn’t it the most effective way to win the battles of your life?
I pray you will stop flexing your muscles and spewing anger at every word people haul at you, which always land you in trouble and defeat, even when you are right.
May you not give your enemies what they want by being quickly angered, unloving, and unforgiving. Rather, may you walk in the victory of the Lord by yielding to His Spirit and flowing in His grace. Remember, His power is made perfect in your weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).
Shalom
Through the Eyes of the Spirit 