Obstacles

 "And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.””

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭13‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As the blessing of the Lord is before us, we often see difficulty. As his bounty is before us, we see only obstacles. We see things that, from a worldly standpoint, would keep us from it.

Even knowing what we do about God, this becomes our focus. Even knowing his power, this becomes a source of discouragement. And even knowing his faithfulness, this becomes a source of doubt.

Rather than looking to him in faith, we question. Rather than trusting in him, we waver. And rather than believing his promise, we despair.

This is what happened to the people of Israel in the passage above. As the spies passed through the land of Canaan, which had been promised to them by God, they saw its abundance. But they saw also a major obstacle.

The people of the land were strong. The cities of the land were fortified and strong. And they saw giants, they saw descendants of Anak, living there.

From a human perspective, this made their conquest of the land difficult. It made it, in fact, untenable. They, then, feared to go up and take possession of it.

Even knowing what God had done in Egypt, they feared. Even remembering how he miraculously brought them out of slavery, they feared. And even remembering how he’d provided for them as they journeyed through the wilderness, they feared.

They didn’t seem to believe that God could, once again, fulfill his promise. They didn’t seem to believe that God could, once again, display his might. And they didn’t seem to believe that God could, once again, act on their behalf.

As a result, the people of Israel were kept from the land of promise. They did not inherit the blessing of God. They were sent back into the desert, until the last of that generation had perished.

God gave his blessing to their children. It was they who were enabled to take possession of the land. As they trusted in the Lord and his promise, his blessing became theirs.

God’s blessing, his forgiveness and salvation, are received through faith in Christ alone. We, then, must not make the mistake of the people of Israel. We must not allow our circumstances to cause fear and doubt to well up within us. If we lose faith in the Lord, if we fail to trust in him, we too could miss out on his blessing.