Presented by OY

[See attached Audio/Podcast below]


1 AND ALL the congregation cried out with a loud voice, and [they] wept that night.

2 All the Israelites grumbled and deplored their situation, accusing Moses and Aaron, to whom the whole congregation said, Would that we had died in Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness!

3 Why does the Lord bring us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and little ones will be a prey. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?
Numbers 14:1-3

The children of Israel got scared after hearing the reports of the spies who were sent to Canaan to scope out the land. While reading this passage during my personal Bible study, the thought occurred to me that if I were in their shoes I won't say let's go back to Egypt but instead I would set up camp right outside Canaan and be content with the fact that I almost made it. In addition, recently I've had a few conversations with friends recently where I kept hearing phrases like I'm bored or I'm waiting on God's promise concerning an area in my life or I don't know what's next in life for me.

It sounds like the modern day version of Numbers 14:1-3 where people are stuck just outside of Canaan, in a waiting room and are not moving forward or going backward.

How come?

Some of us are leaning on excuses. In the story of the lame man by the pool in Bethesda, in John 5:1-9, with emphasis on verse 7: The invalid answered, Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come [into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me.
Notice how he had a pre-packaged excuse ready to give Jesus when asked if he wanted to be healed. For someone who had stayed in the same spot for almost 40 years, one can almost deduce that he must have told this story to so many different people to be able to garner pity to get food, clothing and shelter.

If you don't know what next and your excuse is that you haven't gotten direction from God about what next, be persistent in seeking His face. See Luke 18:1-8 with special emphasis on verses 7 and 8:
7 And will not [our just] God defend and protect and avenge His elect (His chosen ones), who cry to Him day and night? Will He [a]defer them and [b]delay help on their behalf?

8 I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [[c]persistence in] faith on the earth?

It could also be that we may have given up hope. A classic example is the response Martha gave to Jesus when she told him that Lazarus was dead in John 11:21-24. Especially as Christians, we try to explain away our disappointment in what I like to call christian-speak. But the good news is no matter how dead the situation seems to be, no matter how long you think you've been cooped up in the waiting room, the hope can be resurrected.

Most important of all is fear. Fear can keep you rooted in one spot. Too afraid to turn back but afraid of what is ahead. Of course we know that God has not given us the spirit of fear but of lover, power and sound mind. But in addition to that, we should pray that God opens our eyes to see from His perspective. (2 Kings 6:8-17)