Discouraged

Numbers 32:7 Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the LORD has given them?

The power to discourage is in everyone’s hands. It is easy to discourage other people. We just need to focus on what is wrong. And there is plenty of that!

We see it every day in the news. Politics seem to be driven by it. It is often called fearmongering. Fear is played upon in order to get people to move in the direction you want them to move.

But we can to it in our personal lives as well. We feel a small pain, notice a bump where there wasn’t one last week, read something on the internet that matches some of the symptoms you have, and your fear spikes through the roof. This is a very difficult place to live.

But there is an antidote to this kind of fear. Some of the Israelites who were focused on the difficulties, blow all out of proportion in light of the power of the LORD. All they could see was the enemy, the size of the city walls, the size of the people, the size of the population. And as a result they took their eyes off the size of the LORD.

They had forgotten his delivering power from Egypt and the plagues, from the Red Sea, from the hardships of the journey, extended by their lack of trust in him. They had forgotten all these things. They had seen the pillar of cloud and fire for years. And yet they still doubted.

But the solution is wholehearted following the LORD. Even in the face of difficulty, the LORD will be faithful, and he is powerful enough to handle the situation. Perhaps it won’t be in the way I expect, but he loves me and will bring about the good.

We face difficulties. Are we willing to trust wholeheartedly in the LORD? Even when faced with a sea before us and an enemy army pinning us to the wall? Even when food seems scarce and the obstacles appear insurmountable?