The twelve spies

The twelve spies

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them…. So they went and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin….And they returned from spying out the land after forty days…. ( Numbers 13-14)

As the rest of the story goes, all of the men that went in to the promised land, came back with a tail of a land that was filled with milk and honey. Caleb and Joshua, encouraged Moses to send the people on into the promise land. But the other ten spies warned Moses against it. They told him that the land belonged to a powerful people , giants men that they could not possible defeat. As a result, of this negative report the people cried out in fear, and begged Moses to turn away from the Promised land and choose another home land for the people to settle upon.

The simple truth was , that although all twelve spies saw the same blessings and the same obstacle, the ten spies saw the problems that laid ahead as to big for the people to over come, even with God help. While Joshua and Caleb saw the problems as an opportunities. In other words, the ten spies saw only the dark troubles ahead if they enter into the Promise Land. While Joshua and Caleb saw the light of God promises if they laid a head if they simple had faith in God

This lack of faith in God provision, caused the people to reject the promised gift from God and sent them on a journey through the wilderness that would last them 40 years. But Gods promise still laid before the people, and only after the death of many of the old generation that were still in bondage to the old ways, were the Israelites allowed to finally enter into the Promise Land. In the end the ten spies never entered the Promise land. On the other hand, Caleb and Joshua entered the promise land as leaders of the Israelites.

More often that we care to admit, there are some of us that tend to be problem-oriented people, and not solution -oriented. In other words, just like the ten spies and the majority of the Israelites, we tend to look at the problem that enter our lives as if they are giants that we can not possible overcome. In the process we become very negative and crucial people, people that then to look at the glass as half empty. If we are battling a chronic illness, we look at our illness not as a opportunity for change, but as the end of our lives as we know it. As a result, we are not entering the promise land of peace and joy that comes from a deep faith in God healing hands.

Living with chronic pain and illness myself, I have walked the dark path of fear ,of bitterness and resentment towards my doctors, towards myself, and towards God, because of this painful thorn in my flesh. I gained victory over my pain, by changing the directions of my thoughts. When I came to accept just as Apostle Paul eventually did, that Hs grace is sufficient, His light began to shine brightly on my pain.

As I began to focus on the Lord as an active light in my life, He opened a door for me and I began to gain that peace of spirit and soul that goes beyond understanding. Under the stress of fighting my pain in the darkness, the pain was so out of control that my doctor could not help me. I so was caught in the dark world of my own misery that I could not see the light. Once I stopped fighting my own body and began to relax and focus my attention on the Lord, His light began to envelope my whole life. In the process I learned that there were certain things that I could do to help relive my own pain ,and in the process my pain diminished to nothing more than a small achy reminder that my thorn is still there..

Living in the light has given me a whole new perspective of these end times. I see not a world of darkness filled with pain and hardships, all though I know it exist . Instead, I see a world of possibilities. I see God people rising up and becoming the light in the darkness. I see people walking not away from the church ( the true Church of God the Body of Christ) but embracing it and leaning to walk in the light as they begin to walk in a closure relationship with the Lord. I see people from all walks of life, from all around the world and every race and nationality , reaching out and touching the life of others , with the Light the flows through them as a river of life.

Walking in the light is a matter a choice. But as long as you are focusing all you thoughts on the darkness that is all you will every see!!!!