Numbers 14:1

New King James Version

So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.

For Meditation

What’s going on here, I mean, with your faith?

What was supposed to be an encouraging and uplifting report to spur the congregation of Israel on to a remarkable conquest of Canaan became a damping, fire-quenching bomb of water sprayed over the camp (Nu. 13:27-29). The people lifted their voices in response to the report of the ten and cried all night and rebelled (14:1-4). Stop and think about it—an entire nation roused to raise their voices, not in worship of the Lord, but in wailing for a dead dream, sort of.

They had high hopes of inheriting a beautiful land flowing with milk and honey, a land they could finally call their own. But now they faced the giants of old, ready and waiting to crush them under their feet, as anybody could stomp on a grasshopper and squash it (31-33).

So, bring it on, Israel, or whatever you call yourselves, the descendants of Nephilim may have said. Come and take the land if you can breach our fortresses and mighty walls to face us, the giants.

Have you heard such voices before you took on a demanding project or responsibility? It reverberates in your ears and wakes you up in the night. In meetings, your ears ring with its frightful sound. You can hear it when your spouse’s car pulls up or the teacher enters the classroom for the examinations. It happens when the alarm sounds the wake-up call on a Monday morning or on the day of that fateful meeting with your boss. Hearts have stopped pumping in many such situations, and the fear has ruined lives beyond repair. One bad, careless report that received little thoughtful consideration or analysis gets center stage from somebody or a group you considered trustworthy, and your future goes down the drain. 

What happened to you, Israel? Who is your God, and where is He in the report you just received? What has He not said and done before that can help you evaluate such reports? His promises have never failed in your nation’s life, so how can you forget so soon because somebody has challenged you? Why don’t you get it?

But that is what we have become as Christians. After the twenty-one-day fast and the moving messages with the high praises and testimonies, one adverse report from the doctor’s office, job, business, home front, school, bank, or investment manager arouses the utmost fear in our hearts. We lift our voices, cry secretly, and walk out in defeat, yet pretend to be on top of things.

Right now, the leadership of one man in a presidential seat has everybody sitting on tentacles as if the world is coming to a crashing end. Fear has gripped everybody in America, and the ripples have reached the shores of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Islands.

Where is our God? Is anybody, I mean, is any Christian thinking like Joshua and Caleb (Nu. 14:6-9)? Is anybody thinking like the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what to do (1 Chron. 12:32)?

This is not the time to cower in fear and retreat into our pigeonholes. These days are not times to bow our knees to the golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar or the Baals of this world, the false idols and temptations that distract us from our faith. It is the time to crown Jesus as King and Lord of our lives and that of the church. These times call for critical self-examination of our personal lives to see if our walk shows we are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5-6) or to reveal if, for us, Christ is truly the Lord of the Church (Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:18).

Which and what is it for you?

 Pray with Me

Father, forgive our cowardly response to the world’s report that has put us in fear and on the run for our lives. Current events have set the world on hooks of uncertainty and fear. Please ease the tension in your children’s hearts and give us your peace that transcends understanding to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Let every man be a liar, and you alone be true, reminding us that our ultimate trust should be in you, not in the words or actions of men. Help us trust in your word and promises beyond reason. We ask all these in the precious name of your Son and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!