Don't Cast Away Your Confidence!

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Today's Passage> Numbers chapter 14
Memory Verse> Numbers 14: 9

Recently, we've been learning about how close to terrorists the enemy's kingdom is. These spiritual forces of darkness will use anything to muscle their way into our lives and away from God's plan for us. One fire-sure way of inserting themselves is through fear. Now, God is all for reassuring us that fear doesn't come from Him, and that we don't have to fall into agreement with it. But when we choose to do so, we play a dangerous game of operating as pawns of God's enemy.

As soon as we allow fear to set in, we step into a different realm where we no longer view the Lord as our Shepherd. We make a statement that shames Him and makes Him small in the eyes of the enemy, when it should be the other way around. We begin to complain against Him as if He were a hard taskmaster, expressing our longing for things that the enemy inflicted on us in the past. The children of Israel swore that the Lord, Who moved heaven and earth to rescue them from Pharaoh, had brought them to the wilderness to kill them. Because of fear, we willingly exchange the truth of Who God is for the devil's lie. Everything He ever was fades into the distance as we grasp for the easy way out, choosing to sell our birthright for something so fleeting as a moment's comfort.

Not only will we be deceived into thinking our previous bondage was actually life for us, but we'll go so far as to choose a new leader and return to that place of bondage. Because God's grace was extended to us, we take it for granted that He won't strike us down on the spot. We enter into this stage of outright rebellion against everything godly, just because God required a little discipline from us. God's Word says that no chastisement seems pleasant at that moment, but the last thing we want to do is trade our Shepherd for the tyrant that satan really is. What we'll find ourselves doing is rejecting all the counsel that's coming from His heart, accepting the lie that all we'll ever be good for is what we've always known.

When Joshua and Caleb discovered that the children of Israel had turned their hearts from God, they immediately began to intercede on their behalf. Somehow they knew that it wasn't really them, but the fear talking. They knew that all they had to do was take a moment to meditate on the vast goodness of the Lord. No matter how tough things are, how could some of God's children be so disloyal to Him? Had He not already shown them enough proof of His ability to take care of them? Watch the Lord's response-- and this is a place we can never allow ourselves to go. He said: "How long will these people REJECT Me?". You see, we are so familiar with God's power that we forget how jealous He is for us. It hurts Him more than anything to have us look to another for answers that HE should be providing. This breaks His heart to the very core. Although He repented from destroying them, something was destroyed in His relationship with them. And THEY allowed that to happen, all because they gave in to the fear . Saints, in our time of testing, may we NEVER be found in such a state that we're willing to cast away our confidence in the very essence of our God. May every promise He's made resonate within us, doing damage to the devil's kingdom rather than our Heavenly Father's heart.

Prayer: Father, of all the things I'm most grateful for, it's got to be that Your Presence goes before me in the battle. I find peace and comfort in the fact that You are always there. How could I ever listen to the lies from the enemy when You've never let me down? My confidence is always in You, and will always be so. May my loyalty never run out, but may I always be able to find refuge in Your truth. You are my Shepherd, and I'll never listen to the voice of another. In Jesus' Name, Amen.