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| Numbers 13:18-20 |
“Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land” (Numbers 13:20).
Moses sent the twelve spies into the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, with instructions to see what the land and the people were like and to bring back some of the fruit of the land. They were supposed to go with faith in God’s promise which had been carried down their ancestral line since Abraham. They were supposed to look at the land and the people through a lens of the goodness of the Lord and what He was about to do for them. Then, they were supposed to bring back some of the fruit of the land for the rest to see the goodness of the Lord which awaited them in the Promise.
How are you walking into your God-promises today? Are you spying out your promised land with eyes of faith or eyes of fear? Either you will walk with your faith in God’s promises or you will walk with your eyes on yourself and your shortcomings. Which one will get you where God wants to take you? Which one will cause you to wander in the wilderness a bit longer? Which do you choose today? Fear or faith?
Peter walked on water as long as his eyes remained upon Jesus. He was walking with Jesus upon the waters. As soon as he stopped walking with his eyes upon Jesus’ ability he panicked because of the storm and the waves and he began to drown. He had called to Jesus to command him to walk on the water then he cried out to Jesus to save him when he fell (Matthew 14:28-31).
God is good. He is not waiting for opportunities to condemn you. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). He is for you and not against you and His desire is for you to walk into your promised land (Romans 8:31). He will support you in this (2 Chronicles 16:9). If you have tried and let fear overcome you, cry out to Him for help. He will lift you up. If you are stepping out in faith, keep your eyes on what He has promised and His ability to deliver you into your promises even against the greatest of odds (2 Corinthians 9:8). In the meantime, bring some of the fruit of the land back for others to see. Yes, there will be fruit all along the way if you have eyes to see it and a heart to receive it.
How do we bear the fruit of what we have yet to attain? First, believe it is there, then speak and pray with faith believing in the promises of God then walk into the promises of God. There is time for prayer and planning, but they are naught unless you begin to also move into the promises. Recognize each victory along the way and celebrate it fully. Don’t speak or give voice to the possible road blocks, but overcome them by faith in God’s ability to fulfill His promises. Don’t let fear of failure keep you from following the path set before you. It is better to stumble along the way than to turn and wander in the desert. You can learn from mistakes, but not trying at all teaches you nothing and gets you nowhere.
What is the promise God has laid on your heart? What is keeping you from stepping out in faith? What can you do today to take the first faith-step into your promised land? As the verse states above, it takes courage to bring in the fruit of the promised land. I hope you will take courage today and step into your promises.
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you,
that you, always having all sufficiency in all things,
may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).