Doing things on our own terms will most likely not end the way we thought or hoped for.
The Israelites would mess up, have shown to them what they’d done wrong, and decide “Okay, we see we messed up. Especially after God wants to punish us for what we did wrong. We think we’ll go ahead and do thing His way now. Okay, God, we’ll listen to you now, again.” (See Numbers 14:40) Why not save yourself a whole lot of heartache and just do things God’s way in the first place.
We are a stubborn people. Being in control and wanting to do things on our terms is what many desire. We often read about the troubles and trials of the Israelites and shake our head wondering if they’d ever “get it”. But we shouldn’t have to look too far to see that we are often just like them in their stubbornness.
Caleb had it right. He had a different spirit from the others and followed God wholeheartedly (Numbers 14:24). Since Caleb chose to follow God, he was rewarded. Since he chose to follow God, God was with him in his endeavors.
Don’t you want to dare to be different from the world? Dare to be more like Caleb and follow God with all your heart. If you do you’ll discover that the reward is sweet in the end.
| March 17 |
