Opportunity Has a Shelf Life

You probably recall the Biblical story recounted in Numbers chapters 13 and 14, where God instructed His people to militarily engage the army of Canaan, the land that God had promised Abraham, in war. It began (13:1) when God instructed Moses to send a member of each tribe to “spy out the land.”

As the story goes, Joshua and Caleb brought back an accurate report of the numbers and strengths of the peoples of Canaan, and Caleb said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” However, the remaining 10 spies were afraid and recommended abstaining from, what seemed to them, as certain death. All the congregation of people therefore lifted their voices and complained against Moses and Aaron. Furthermore, they decided to select a new leader to lead them back to Egypt! (14:1-4). Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before God while Joshua pleaded with the people to not rebel against the Lord or fear the people of Canaan.

In response to Moses’ and Aarons’ prayer, the Lord pardoned the people for their lack of faith. Unfortunately, this rebellion marked the tenth time the people of God had rebelled against the express instructions of the Lord, so their future in the promise land was forfeited. When Moses informed the children of Israel they mourned and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” (14:39, 40)

Moses then pled with the children of Israel not to go up to war for they would be defeated; “You have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” (14:41-43) The people would not listen to Moses and “presumed” to proceed and were thus defeated. (14:44, 45) We know that history continued without those who perished needlessly.

Why do I retell this story? How is it applicable to those of us in the New Testament Church of Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the redeemed? In what way could you ever experience this kind of event personally?

Let me begin with a statement: Much like in the days of Moses, many Christians are accustomed to hearing the direction of God through the spoken word of a church leader, or Christian prophet. Unfortunately, we often doubt the veracity of those we listen to. They could be wrong, or slightly off, or otherwise motivated by something other than the express will of God. We tend to pick and choose what we will believe based on what seems, wise, reasonable, Biblical, etc.

Additionally, those of us who hear the voice of the Lord ourselves often find ourselves suspect. We could be wrong, or slightly off, or otherwise motivated by something other than the express will of God. Once again, we tend to pick and choose what to believe.

We know we should be obedient, and are fundamentally willing to obey, when we are certain which direction to go. But how can we be certain? Why are we so picky about what to believe? For one, we really could be wrong, and the unnecessary waste of time, energy and resources is a real danger. If we don’t know what to do, we may well do the wrong thing or waste precious resources in our attempt to find the “right” thing.

We are also easily swayed by our own desires. We must constantly monitor our hearts to ensure we are responding to the Lord rather than following our heart, which can be unreliable when left unchecked. Sometimes our heart desires a new home, a wife or husband, a new job, a raise. Sometimes our hearts are just lazy and don’t really want to get excited unless it’s imperative to survival.

All that to say; discernment is necessary to walking as a spirit being in an empirical world. Now if discernment is necessary, faith is even more necessary, even critical. Anything not of faith is sin. (Rom 14:23). Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb 11:6) The children of Israel heard the gospel preached to them just as we have but it did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith. (Heb 4:2)

What I hope to convey to you is that obedience is essential but faith trumps obedience. The purpose of discernment is to assist in obedience. Discernment must be accompanied by faith to operate correctly. Otherwise, discernment becomes something else. For example, unbelief will masquerade as wisdom and wisdom seeks to inform discernment. The people of Israel thought it wise to live to fight another day rather than listen to Moses and Aaron (God).

Fear insists that it is discernment from above.

May I say to you that doing the wrong thing in faith is better than doing the right thing in unbelief. How can I say that? Because what you do in faith will please God and move Him to redeem even your mistakes and turn them to your advantage. Doing the right thing without faith can get you beaten as the children of Israel will testify.

Let us therefore be motivated by faith and our faith being on the lookout for opportunity to obey. In this way your discernment will function as designed and advertised. Be on the lookout for opportunities to obey God in faith. He will direct your faith and increase it. And remember, opportunity has a shelf life. Therefore, a missed opportunity is better to repent of and move on from than comply after the company and favor of the Lord have moved on.

A word of caution: those who insist their discernment is superior are often those who have no intention to obey God!

If I left you with more questions than answers, I apologize. Drop me a note and I’ll do my best to clarify.

Peace on the Path