What's Your Response to the Naysayers?

Isn't it just like our Lord that this morning's Bible reading spoke directly to the need of my heart?! Look at what the Lord spoke in Numbers 14...

After the Israelites heard the report from the twelve men who had explored Canaan, the people cried all night and complained to Moses and Aaron, "We wish we had died in Egypt or somewhere out here in the desert! Is the LORD leading us into Canaan, just to have us killed and our women and children captured? We'd be better off in Egypt." Then they said to one another, "Let's choose our own leader and go back."

Moses and Aaron bowed down to pray in front of the crowd. Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes in sorrow and said: "We saw the land ourselves, and it's very good. If we obey the LORD, he will surely give us that land rich with milk and honey. So don't rebel. We have no reason to be afraid of the people who live there. The LORD is on our side, and they won't stand a chance against us!"

The crowd threatened to stone Moses and Aaron to death. But just then, the LORD appeared in a cloud at the sacred tent.

The LORD said to Moses, "I have done great things for these people, and they still reject me by refusing to believe in my power..."

What a word to us when naysayers threaten our commitment or belief in the promises of God! Look at the tide we can quickly get caught up in...

1. They got swept up in emotion rather than standing on the Truth... "the people cried all night."
2. They gave a voice to the emotion rather than the Truth... "and complained to Moses and Aaron."
3. They imagined themselves elsewhere... "we wish we had died in Egypt."
4. They questioned the LORD... "Is the LORD leading us into Canaan, just to have us killed...?"
5. They came to their own conclusion... "We'd be better off in Egypt."
6. They decided to make their own choice... "Let's choose our own leader and go back."
7. They found themselves in REBELLION! Sylvia Gunter defines rebellion as "reserving for ourselves the right to choose."

Oh, how different their history would look if they had just believed the Truth that Joshua and Caleb presented... "We saw the land ourselves, and it's very good. If we obey the LORD, he will surely give us that land rich with milk and honey. So don't rebel. We have no reason to be afraid of the people who live there. The LORD is on our side, and they won't stand a chance against us!" The consequence of this destructive tide was that a whole generation, except Joshua and Caleb, failed to enter the land of Promise. They wandered aimlessly when freedom and "home" was just on the horizon.
No matter how threatening the pressure is, remember that at just the right moment the LORD appeared! Just like for me this morning, the LORD appears and reaches down His righteous right arm and saves us!
"The LORD said to Moses, 'I have done great things for these people, and they still reject me by refusing to believe in my power." We have the opportunity to follow the example of the psalmist Asaph in Psalm 77, when despite the emotions that raged in verses 1-10, he makes this choice in verse 11, "Our LORD, I will remember the things you have done, your miracles of long ago. I will think about each one of your mighty deeds. Everything you do is right and no other god compares with you."
Where has the LORD asked you to go that is looking too difficult today? What has He said to you to be strong and courageous about? "Now what He is commanding you this day is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach." (Deuteronomy 30:11) Believe Him! His arm is not too short "for nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:37) In fact, Jesus said, "everything is possible for him who believes." (Mark 9:23) Make your choice! Grab hold of His extended arm, hold fast and believe!