Courage is an Outcome of Your Walk With God

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy 1:19-46

There is certainly alot going on here but what sticks out to me is the courage of Caleb and Joshua - courage that only comes to us through faith in God. This is in context of Moses recalling the story the moment when the Israelites were nearing the promised land.

God requests the Israelites to take the hill country of the Amorites. He even tries to soothe their fears.

²⁰ Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. ²¹ See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (verse 20-21)

What is striking here is that even with God actually soothing the nerves of the Israelites, they still sought their own plan vs God's plan, convincing Moses that sending spies into the land would reassure them more so than God.

²² Then all of you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to."

²³ The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe. ²⁴ They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and explored it. ²⁵ Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, "It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us."

²⁶ But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. ²⁷ You grumbled in your tents and said, "The LORD hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. ²⁸ Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. (verses 22-28)

How quickly the Israelites lose faith in God by saying "the Lord hates us"! Moses then reminds the Israelites of how he tried to encourage them and how God sought to protect them.

²⁹ Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. ³⁰ The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, ³¹ and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." (verse 29-31)

Probably most telling is how the Israelites hemmed and hawed then begrudingly followed him.

⁴¹ Then you replied, "We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up and fight, as the LORD our God commanded us." So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country. (verse 41)

Of course the Lord sees right through the Israelites and denies those who lack true and complete faith any access to the promised land.

⁴² But the LORD said to me, "Tell them, 'Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.' "⁴³ So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the LORD's command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. ⁴⁴ The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah. ⁴⁵ You came back and wept before the LORD, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you. ⁴⁶ And so you stayed in Kadesh many days—all the time you spent there. (verse 42-46)

My Prayer: Lord, your strength provides me with great comfort and I thank you for how you have protected me...time and time again in my life. Forgive me when I stray, neglect you, and for my disobedient. For example, I am not in prayer not nearly as much as I would like. Please help me with this.