I was talking with a friend the other day and in our discussion I began to tell her about a miracle I am praying for. She proceeded to tell me why it will never occur. She is a smart woman so she tried to reason with me. She gave much evidence to explain why the miracle I was praying for will not happen. When she was done she paused and waited for my reply. I looked deep into her soul and said, "Nothing you can say will ever convince me that my God will not perform this miracle! My God is faithful and always performs the miracles He promises to me. I understand your lack of faith based on the facts, but nothing will ever take away my faith because my faith is in Almighty God!" Then, I proceeded to remind her of the miracles God had performed in her life. This friend has not trusted Jesus as her Savior yet. I say, "Yet!" because I am praying for the miracle of her salvation too.
This situation reminded me of the story in Numbers 13-14 of the twelve spies from the twelve tribes of Israel who Moses sent into the land of Canaan. God had delivered Israel from Egypt and the Lord had lead them to Canaan which was the land the Lord had promised them. The twelve spies went into the land and spied for 40days. Although the land was good, ten of spies came back and gave a bad report to the people of Israel. They gave this bad report because they saw fortified cities they did not believe they could defeat. They also saw "men of great stature." They were afraid of the obstacles and did not trust God to take care of things for them. Therefore, they believed the physical circumstances they saw above the Word of God. This is tempting to all people. However, two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, choose to look at the circumstances by keeping in mind that this was God's idea and this land was a gift from God to His people. Caleb answered the bad report of the ten unbelieving spies by saying in Numbers 13:30; "Let us go up at once and take possession(of the land), for we are well able to overcome it." Caleb had this response because he believed God's Word! He knew nothing was impossible with God! The obstacles he saw were so small in comparison to the God he knew and trusted!
Unfortunately, Israel believed the bad report of the ten spies and did not heed the advice of Caleb, and Joshua. Keep in mind that these were the same people who had been eye witnesses to the parting of the Red Sea! They choose to not believe the God who parted the Red Sea to save them from the Egyptians. Well, the Lord was very angry about this. Because of this rebellion of unbelief these people spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness waiting to die. When they were all dead, then God brought Joshua and Caleb and the younger generations of Israel into the promised land of Canaan! God kept His promise and did the miracles required to give them the land!
This is a great principle to live by. Am I going to live my life wandering through the wilderness waiting for death or am I going to live in wonder as I experience the miracles of my Great and Mighty God? Can you recall the miracles God has performed in your life? Is there a miracle right now He is encouraging you to pray for? Are you living with purpose and passion? Are you attempting and praying for things that can only happen by the power of God? Are you stepping out of the boat in faith to walk on the water? This is the promised land! A life of faith, excitement, risk, great miracles and most of all dependance on Jesus! Are you living in the promised land of your own life? Maybe you are walking on the border of the promised land right now. Maybe you are wondering if God can really bring you to the places you believe you were born to go. Well, I want to encourage you right now! Believe God and take the first step in following Him! He will lead you if your heart is willing! Don't be a wanderer living in the fog of unbelief waiting for death! Be a BELIEVER living in the wonder of our Awesome God of miracles!
Psalm 77:14- You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate Your awesome power among the peoples.
