Have you ever been given a personal promise or direction from the Lord that all of a sudden looked like it was not going to come to pass? You held on to that promise and many times just the thought of it's completion brought a smile to your face. Then one day an adverse condition arose, from out of no where, and it challenged all that you ever believed would come to pass. These are the moments of our lives when we encounter the cross roads of faith.

In Exodus 3:8 God stated His purpose in freeing the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt; "So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey..." God states His intentions for the nation of Israel: to lead them into the blessing!

Finally, coming to the promised land, Moses sends out 12 spies to go in and have a look around. Upon their return, the men bringing with them the rich abundant fruit of the land, gave their report in the hearing of the congregation. Numbers 13:27 records their answer: "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is the fruit." In other words they were saying, "It is as God said."

So far so good. Now look at the next verse. "Nevertheless, (or BUT!!!) The people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and large; moreover (or - as if that is not enough) we saw the descendants of Anak (giants) there." Here they are, about to realize their "dream," the manifestation of the promise, the promise God gave, the promise God had brought to pass, and all of a sudden they begin to compare themselves, their lack of strength and inability, to the size of the problem. In fact, in verse 33 it says; "We were like grasshoppers 'in our own' sight." I guess you could say they had a grasshopper mentality!

There was a man who stood against all of this "unbelief" - Caleb. In fact Caleb said in verse 30; "Let's go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." Caleb was saying, "Yes, there are obstacles, but God will bring us through, it is as God said!" The people did not listen to the faith of Caleb, instead they "believed," or put their faith in the bad or evil report. Why was the report evil when they stated the natural, obvious truth? It became evil when they doubted the Word of God, what He said He would do. Unbelief, pure and simple!!!

All that night the people cried, and wept, saying; "Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword." And with that they began to form a "Back to Egypt" committee. These are the very people who had seen the miracles of the Lord, the strength and power of God, and yet they allowed fear to rule their destiny. The Lord brought judgment upon the people and said that they were condemned to wander in the wilderness until they all had died off. Only their children would enter in and possess the land, and 40 years later that became a reality.

We should equate unbelief with death. Every time unbelief comes to us, regarding God's Word, we should think death! Unbelief will steal your blessing, it will leave you wandering in the wilderness. It will leave you empty, void of the blessing that God intended for you to enjoy. The lesson here is that faith does not deny the reality of difficulty, but it boldly declares the promise and power of God in the face of the problem, declaring - "It is as God said!"

Dan Downey
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Dan Downey 2000