Have you ever heard someone talk about being in a “wilderness” season? Maybe, you’d say you’re in a wilderness season right now.
In the book of Numbers, we learn the story about the Israelites during their wilderness season. This story provides the origin of the phrase and a great teaching moment for those of us who find ourselves in a difficult moment.
Lessons From The 12 Spies
In Numbers 13, we catch up with God’s people, the Israelites, after their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. God has promised to deliver them into the “Promised Land” after giving them their instructions (The Law/10 Commandments). However, before bringing them into the Land, he asks Moses to appoint Twelve Spies, one from each tribe, to go into the Land and give a report of what they see.
If you know the story, they spend 40 days spying out the Promised Land and return with a mixed report. Ten of the twelve spies report that the land is full of provision (milk and honey and fruit) but that the land is inhabited by giants. Intimidated, they report to the people that it will be impossible to overcome the giants and that they would surely die if they moved forward with God’s instruction.
However, two of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb, attempt to encourage the masses by telling them that God will surely give them what He has promised.
Unfortunately, the masses listen to the majority report and they cry out that it would be better to return to slavery than to die trying to inherit the promise. As a result, the Lord allows a generation of Israelites to fall to their own declaration and they die in the wilderness.
Here are a few takeaways that I think we can benefit from the story.
“See What the Land Is”
I find it interesting that God would ask the people to give a report of the land if He had already promised to give it to them. It’s kind of like asking our kids to tell us what they think of their birthday present before they open it.
Often times, God wants us to provide an account of our perspective in order to see if we’re ready to receive what He’s promised. In essence, He’s checking our heart. That’s why we have to make sure that our perspective stays healthy. When time or circumstances or obstacles seem to delay us stepping into our future, it’s easy to become discouraged and therefore lose hope.
God’s invitation for us to “give a report” is a great way for us to make sure our perspective stays healthy and our hope remains high.
Who Are You Listening To?
When you analyze the story, ten of the twelve spies bring back a bad report. If you run the numbers, that’s 83% – a strong majority – who say, “It’s impossible.” By contrast, only one out of six remain hopeful that God will deliver.
In your life, you’ll find that the majority of people around you will give you a bad report. The truth is there are more people around you who will tell you, “It’s impossible”. This is especially true when it comes to the things God has placed on your heart.
Decide to surround yourselves with Joshuas and Calebs — those who stand for God’s promises in your life and those who will encourage you toward your good future.
You Will Have What You See
I always thought that God was punishing the Israelites by letting them die in the wilderness, but now, I understand that God was simply allowing them to have what they saw.
For those who saw the victory of God, they received victory and inherited the land. For those who saw the defeat of the enemy, they received defeat and died in the wilderness.
When we look at what God has promised, it’s easy to hear the negative report and become overwhelmed by anything that appears to conflict the promise. But one of the greatest principles we can learn is to choose to see beyond the impossible natural into the possible supernatural.
The beauty of God is that He allows us to have what we choose to see.
Don’t Waste Your Wilderness
By the end of the story, we see two types of people: those who waste their wilderness moment and die in the desert and those who persist and inherit what God has promised.
As I began to study the story and allow God to speak, I heard Him say, “Don’t waste your wilderness.” I responded by asking, “How do you waste your wilderness?” And He said, “You waste your wilderness when you would rather go back to the past than step into the future.”
Many of the Israelites cry out that it would be better to return to Egypt than step into the promise. But Joshua and Caleb said that they would certainly move forward into the Promised Land because “if God said it, He will do it.”
The truth is, we all must go through our wilderness season — Jesus had to and so do we. The challenge is, HOW we live out our wilderness says everything about HOW we will move through our wilderness and into our future.
If you’d rather go back to “the way it was” you’ll surely miss out on “what could be”.
Below is a video from our monthly Faith in Business meeting where I teach on these principles.
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