FEAR - THE GREAT DETOUR

So, I'm still reading in Deuteronomy. In my defense, I have stopped several times to do Bible studies. Hopefully, I can actually finish the book shortly! :) But I noticed that Moses seems a little bitter. In chapters 7-9, he mentions THREE times that he can't go into the promised land "because the Lord was angry with me on your account." He then goes on in chapter 8 to recount all the times the children of Israel messed up, stressing that God wasn't giving them the land because of THEIR righteousness, but because of the inhabitants wickedness.

One of the things he harped on was their unwillingness to go in to take Canaan in the first place. The whole reason they were sentenced to wander and die (at least that generation) in the wilderness to begin with.

And what was behind their reluctance to go beat the giants of the land? Fear. Plain old fear was the cause of the Israelites rebelling against Moses and refusing to take down the enemy. They chose to believe their fears over believing God.

It's easy for me to point my finger and say, well, goodness, God got you over the Red Sea and now you are balking at a few measly giants? But I know the outcome of the story and they didn't yet. It seems obvious to me, these millienum later, that God was going to come through, but fear loomed large in their minds and it clouded out God.

So, instead of entering the promised land, they wandered in the wilderness and never saw the promised land. Fear kept them out of the promised land, or I should say believing their fears over believing in God's power kept them out of the promised land forever.

Yes, it is easy for me to point my finger but what promised lands am I missing out on because I believe my fear over God's goodness, His promises, His past workings in my life? Ouch! That hits a little closer to home.

I also find it interesting that Moses repeatedly tells the children of Israel, a new generation that stands poised to take over their promised land, to remember all the things God has done for them, to not only remember but pass those on to their children. Why? I think the lesson is if you focus on all that God has done in the past, it becomes easier to choose to belief over fear in the present.

Sometimes, I wonder why I don't see God in bigger ways in this day and age. Some people say it is because God just doesn't do those things anymore. I wonder if it is more I am unwilling to go fight the giants, to step out in obedience and faith, rather than stay safely on the other side of the Jordan where it is safe and known. I wonder if it is because I want to know the outcome before I attempt the deed. Maybe I need to start recounting God's goodness in my life and then it will be easier to believe God rather than my fears.
~ Blessings, Bronte