SAY YES TO THE TASK

I want you to take a minute and read Numbers 13. This is the story of Moses sending the 12 spies into Canaan to check it out. Now I want you to imagine you are one of those spies. You saw everything that they saw and you know only what they know. What are you going to tell Moses? Are you going to agree with the majority and tell Moses not to attack, or would you take Caleb and Joshua’s side? Okay, now I want to remind you that this land was the Promised Land, it was the land flowing with milk and honey. God has promised this land to you, as an Israelite. So let us rewind. Does your report to Moses change? Are you still afraid to go in?
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The Israelites doubted God. They knew that this land was promised to them. They knew that the same God that brought 10 miraculous plagues on Egypt and gave them their freedom also promised them this land. Yet, in the end, they doubted that God would give it to them. They doubted that God would fight with them and help them win the battle. They did not even want to give God the chance to show His power and faithfulness. Sadly, that hasn’t changed for many of us today.
Have you ever received a task or a calling from God and said no because of fear? Maybe God called you to change jobs but you were afraid of the change and the unknown. Maybe God gave you the task of being a youth leader in your church but you were afraid of not being good enough. But the question is, why? Why were you afraid of accepting something that came from God? The same God that helped the Israelites win battle after battle, the same God that made the sun stand still (Joshua 10:12-15), the same God that blesses us with grace day after day. Why do we ever doubt that God will be with us and equip us for the task He has given us? The Israelites did not want to fight for their new land because they did not think they had the means to win. They did not give God the chance to show His power by defeating the Amalekites and Canaanites. Instead, they wanted to go back to slavery or die in the desert. Therefore, God did exactly that. The Israelites refused to believe in God’s strength and power and so God gave them their wish and they died in the desert rather than entering the promised land. All but Caleb and Joshua. These men had faith, they followed the Lord wholeheartedly, they believed that God would give them the land and so God blessed them and their descendants (Numbers 14)

We all should live our lives with the faith of Caleb and Joshua. They knew that, even though the Promised Land was filled with powerful men who could easily defeat them, God was on their side and He was more powerful. 

​They accepted the task God had given them because they knew that God would not abandon them. And God will never abandon you. If He gives you a task or calls you to something, He isn’t going to leave you on your own to do it. He has and is going to prepare and equip you for it. God knows what you can handle better then you know yourself. 
 
“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”   Numbers 14:24
 
I want to challenge you, and I take this challenge for myself as well. The next time God calls you or gives you a task, don’t say no, don’t even hesitate. Do not let fear stop you from seeing God’s power. Do not let it stop you from being an instrument that shows God’s power.  Follow the Lord wholeheartedly, giving Him all your fears and having faith that whatever God asks of you, can be accomplished as He is with you. And we all know God can do anything, even through the weakest part of us. So say Yes!