They had come to the very edge of the Promised Land. The spies had
returned and had not only told them about how wonderful it was, that
it was a land that flowed with milk and honey, but they had even
brought back some of the fruit of the land to prove it. The people
must have been convinced that the land was even better than they had
ever imagined. But there was a problem.
The spies also told them about the fortified cities and the giants
who lived in the land. They spread an evil report about the land,
and that night the people said, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in
this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us
fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder.
Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?"
The New Testament book of Hebrews tells us that the people who came
out of Egypt were not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of
their unbelief (Hebrews 3:19). And we are told, "See to it,
brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that
turns away from the living God." (Hebrews 3:12)
There have been times in my life when I felt a lot like those
people. When things didn't go the way I thought they would, or they
became much more difficult than I wanted, I would often hear myself
say things like, "I knew this wasn't going to work. God never hears
my prayers and He never helps me. I should just forget the whole
thing."
When we have unbelief in our hearts it doesn't mean that we don't
have any belief at all, it means that we believe something that
isn't true. When we choose to believe a lie, something that isn't in
agreement with God's word, we are choosing unbelief instead of
belief.
Jesus said, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."
(Matthew 12:34) Whatever is in our hearts will come out of our
mouths, sooner or later. The words we speak show us what is hiding
in the depths of our hearts. For the people that came out of Egypt
with Moses, their unbelief was heard again and again.
When they didn't have food, they said, "If only we had died by the
LORD'S hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all
the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to
starve this entire assembly to death." (Exodus 16:3) When they ran
out of water they complained, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt
to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" (Exodus
17:3)
Have you ever gone through difficult, or disappointing, experiences
and found yourself complaining like they did? Maybe you weren't
thinking God was going to kill you, but have you ever thought, like
I have, that He wasn't going to help you?
The sad fact is that those people got exactly what they believed.
Their words tell us that they believed that God wanted to destroy
them in the wilderness, and they ended up dying there because they
refused to believe God.
God had rescued them from slavery so that He could fulfill His
promise to their fathers. And when Caleb said, "We should go up and
take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it" (Numbers
13:30), he was expressing his belief. Because Caleb believed God, he
survived forty more years in the wilderness and he was able to enter
the Promised Land.
The apostle Paul said, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy - think about such things."
We have a choice when it comes to what we think about. We can let
ourselves sink into the mire of disappointment, discouragement, and
depression, or we can remind ourselves of God's love and power. God
told Joshua, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your
mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to
do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and
successful." (Joshua 1:8)
We can become prosperous and successful when we concentrate on what
is true. When we consistently remind ourselves about the truth, that
God loves us and wants to bless us, we confront the lies that are in
our hearts.
Unbelief can ruin your life, but belief can revolutionize it. When
you choose to believe that God is willing and able to give you what
we ask for, you begin to create belief in your heart. The more you
do that, the more you confront the lies with His truth, the stronger
your faith will become.
Start today to pay attention to the things you say when you face
difficulties. When you hear yourself saying things that aren't true,
when you start expressing your unbelief, you need to stop right
there. Instead of letting unbelief continue to ruin your life,
choose to think on whatever is true so that the truth can bring
blessing into your life.
About The Author:
© 2007 by Rob Marshall. Rob is the author of Taking On Goliath–How to Unleash
the David in All of Us. Learn how you can unleash your faith and
overcome any "Goliath" that may stand between you and your dreams.
Get two free chapters from Taking On Goliath when you
sign up for
Rob's free newsletter.
