Daily Devotions

Numbers 14: 9The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.

The account here is when Moses told the people when they were at the edge of the Promised Land and about to enter into it. They were very afraid as they are new and have heard many rumours of the fierce giants in the area.

However, God had chosen the land for an inheritance for His people and He had commanded them to move in to possess it. This would have been a mental and emotional challenge to them considering that they were just former slaves in Egypt and were not militarily trained.

I have travelled through the Promised Land on many occasions. It is a harsh and inhospitable land, the Negev desert stretches all the way. It is hot and dry and with high hills which could cover approaching armies. There was a real threat of ambush behind every hill.

It was under such conditions that the Israelite were challenged. There was fear in them and God spoke through Moses to encourage them saying, The Lord be with you, Do not be afraid.

There are also many opportunities for us in life, and just like the Israelite, God will sometime call us out to new territories and we may need to leave the comfort zone that we are used to.

If we do not obey, then we may lose out of the opportunity that God has given to us. We can only be blessed if we trust and obey God even when the circumstances look strange and unfriendly.