This is part of a series of blogs on the Application of God’s Armor.
In the blog In the Lord’s Service we learned that the shield of faith is the belief that the Lord is the one true God and His word is absolute truth even without visible or tangible proof. From this we applied Isaiah 40:31 on how those who “trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
In the blog Obedience is a Choice we learned that the Bible provides God’s instructions to guide us on how to think and on what to do or not do. As we grow in our knowledge of God’s word, our faith in His word grows and we learn how to apply our shield of faith in daily experiences. As we encounter the fiery arrows of criticism in life we are faced with a choice. We can choose to use our shield as the Lord instructed, or we can choose the world’s path by lowering our shield or abandoning it altogether.
In the blog When Faced with the Impossible we learned that our faith is strengthened by the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ when facing what appears to be the impossible. As both strong and weak Roman soldiers stood together in battle, strong and weak believers need to do the same. Individually we may not believe there is a solution to an impossible situation, but together we can believe that nothing is impossible for the one true God.
So, what more can be said about faith? When I consider the fear I often feel when I am facing an unknown situation, I am struck by my tendency to follow what I already know. We all want to be in control. And we typically do the things that allow us to remain in control; even if it is a less desirable outcome. However, what if the Lord is leading you through a situation where the outcome is unknown, and you must give up control to follow His lead. To trust Him you must overcome your fear and accept the outcome whatever it may be. You must take a leap of faith!
Our tendency is to follow what we know, and that is heavily influenced by what the world tries to convince us is right. As we trust in the one true God, our lordship journey will most likely require many leaps of faith. Initially these may be small leaps, but in time we can take larger and larger leaps. The advantage of this type of faith is that each leap strengthens us and prepares us for the next leap as we grow in our faith.
In thinking about the advantages of taking leaps of faith, I wondered what our lordship journey would be like if we didn’t take these leaps. What happens to us if we don’t grow in our faith? The story in Numbers 13 and 14 came to mind. I summarize it here to draw my conclusions, but you should read the entire account for yourself.
In Numbers 13 the Lord told Moses to send out a leader from each tribe to “explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites.” The Lord had led the Israelites to the threshold of their promised land and sent out scouts to get the lay of the land before they entered it. After forty days the scouts returned and reported that “it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey.” But ten of the scouts reported that “the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!” Only two scouts said, “Let’s go at once to take the land,” and “We can certainly conquer it!” The ten scouts disagreed and stirred up the whole community to believe that the people living there were too powerful to conquer.
This resulted in the community rebelling against Moses and Aaron. In Numbers 14:1-12 they wanted to replace Moses and Aaron with new leaders and go back to Egypt. They questioned the Lord, “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder!” When the scouts Joshua and Caleb told them to trust in the Lord to give them the land, “the community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb.”
In Numbers 14:11-12 the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!” But Moses interceded for the community in Numbers 14:13-19, and the Lord pardoned them from immediate death. However, in Numbers 14:36-38 the ten leaders who incited the community against the Lord “were struck dead with a plague before the Lord. Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.”
In Numbers 14:20-35 we learn that there were still consequences from their rebellion; even though the Lord pardoned their sin. The Lord said, “not one of these people will ever enter that land.” Only Joshua and Caleb, and their families, were allowed into the land because they remained loyal to the Lord. The Lord then commands the community back to the wilderness for forty years.
In Numbers 14:39-45, “When Moses reported the Lord’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief. Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. ‘Let’s go,’ they said. ‘We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lord has promised us.’” But Moses told them it would not work because the Lord would not go with them. In defiance some pushed ahead into the hill country. They were attacked and chased back away in defeat.
If the Israelites had only taken a leap of faith like Joshua and Caleb had and trusted the Lord, they would have entered the promised land. The Lord would have cleared the way and protected them as He did for their children forty years later. Instead, these Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness until each one had died. God was still with them in the wilderness, and God helped them in the wilderness, but they never got to the promised land.
They had seen the Lord’s power demonstrated again and again freeing them from Egypt, providing for them, and guiding them. But they were afraid. They even wanted to return to Egypt rather than trust in the Lord. This is the same that we experience. When we are afraid our tendency is to listen to the world around us and do what the world thinks is best. As bad as Egypt was for them, many Israelites were comfortable with what they knew there. And today, many Christians are comfortable with what they know in the world where we live.
So, what happens to us if we don’t take leaps of faith? Well we don’t grow in our faith. We wander in our wilderness, where our relationship with the Lord and with other believers is less than what God intended. We don’t experience blessings that the Lord wants for us. We don’t experience the fullness of life which the Lord wants for us and other believers.
To grow in our faith, we must overcome our fears and follow the Lord’s path, trusting in Him for the outcome in each situation; whatever it may be. You must take leaps of faith; shaken not stirred!
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All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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