What do we see?!

[Barb]

God has always had a people...words penned by Gloria Gaither many years ago, and truer words were never spoken. But in this marvelous fact is also the painful truth that His people have not always been a trusting lot.

This is clearly witnessed in the history of the children of Israel...

They are God's chosen people, yet from the very beginning, they have murmered and complained against the One who knew them best and loved them most.

The reason for this, in my layperson's opinion, is they were deficient in vision.

God carried them from nearly 400 years of bondage, parted the Red Sea, destroyed their oppressors before their eyes, provided a daily meal of meat and bread, and led them to a land of milk and honey.

But what did they see?!

They did not see the abundant blessing...they did not recall the provision and protection of the the journey. They did not recognize that they served a God who had never failed to meet their need or show up on time.

No, they only saw the obstacle and themselves as too weak for the task.

Their inability to look beyond the obvious and operate in faith cost them dearly. The grasshopper mentality meant that a short trek through the desert was heightened to 40 years of marching around the same mountain of defeat.

Whew!! How often I have done this simply because my vision was skewed.

But today, I believe God is calling for folks who will not look at the giants in our lives, but look to the Giant Killer.

We can do this...we can make it!! He has already made our way of escape and written our destiny in the wind.

The question remains, what do we see?!

[Ron]

Very true Barb.

One thing also I saw when reading about the Israelites that left Egypt is this, they "forgot how to fight!"

400 years of slavery produced a "slave like" mentality.
I am sure that 100's of years of hard labour would have made them fit, but would they be ready to battle?

3-4 Million was a figure I heard quoted as to the number that left Egypt, how many were men?
A Few Hundred thousand perhaps?
They could have fought Pharaoh & his armies but they had the "slave mentality" they had
to learn to fight to prepare them for the battles in taking the promised land.

They had the goods--they lacked the confidence!

Reminds me of our battles that come, not to destroy us, but to make us "stronger" & to prepare us for battles down the road.

For what it's worth.

[Barb]

Originally Posted by Ron

Very true Barb.

One thing also I saw when reading about the Israelites that left Egypt is this, they "forgot how to fight!"

400 years of slavery produced a "slave like" mentality.
I am sure that 100's of years of hard labour would have made them fit, but would they be ready to battle?

3-4 Million was a figure I heard quoted as to the number that left Egypt, how many were men?
A Few Hundred thousand perhaps?
They could have fought Pharaoh & his armies but they had the "slave mentality" they had
to learn to fight to prepare them for the battles in taking the promised land.

They had the goods--they lacked the confidence!

Reminds me of our battles that come, not to destroy us, but to make us "stronger" & to prepare us for battles down the road.

For what it's worth.

It's worth much, sir...

That is something that never occurred to me...the slave mentality'.

Some have been enslaved by evil for so long, they have become accustumed to bondage.

[Mrs. LPW]

You must have enough of these now, you could publish a daily devotional book!

Another great post Barb.

[Barb]

Bro. Ron's post has caused me to take my thinking to an arena I hadn't intended.

My original thought was for those who find it hard to trust the Lord for the answers...those whose vision is limited to the issues at hand and not the solution.

But the one with a 'slave mentality' is blinded by feelings rather than faith...in other words, the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.

As the Hebrews missed the leeks and garlic, so does the soul who has been bound to the 'feeling' they had in slavery.

They just cannot see themselves free...

[Ron]

Originally Posted by Mrs. LPW

You must have enough of these now, you could publish a daily devotional book!

Another great post Barb.

Amen!

[Barb]

Originally Posted by Mrs. LPW

You must have enough of these now, you could publish a daily devotional book!

Another great post Barb.

You are very sweet, Missy...

[Barb]

Originally Posted by Ron

Very true Barb.

One thing also I saw when reading about the Israelites that left Egypt is this, they "forgot how to fight!"

400 years of slavery produced a "slave like" mentality.
I am sure that 100's of years of hard labour would have made them fit, but would they be ready to battle?

3-4 Million was a figure I heard quoted as to the number that left Egypt, how many were men?
A Few Hundred thousand perhaps?
They could have fought Pharaoh & his armies but they had the "slave mentality" they had
to learn to fight to prepare them for the battles in taking the promised land.

They had the goods--they lacked the confidence!

Reminds me of our battles that come, not to destroy us, but to make us "stronger" & to prepare us for battles down the road.

For what it's worth.

In thinking about this post this morning, the bolded portion reminded me of the Jews in Nazi Germany...

When watching filmed documentary from that time, we can easily see a handful of soldiers at the train stations, with hundreds, maybe even thousands of Jews being herded into the cattle cars.

Why didn't they resist?!

Survivors say part of it was fear, but a big part was that they believed the word of the enemy..."We're just taking you to an internment camp...you will be all right..."

They were lulled by voices which made promises they had no intention of keeping. The masses didn't see the power in unity and overtaking their enemy...they saw the guns and heard their meaningless words.

Many today will listen to the report or word of the enemy and look at the circumstance rather than trusting in God's Word.

What do we see?!

Is the glass half empty and the mountain too high?!

Are we blinded by the pleasure of the sin we are hiding, convinced that we are not really doing wrong?!

Or are we casting our care on Him knowing He cares for us?!

Are we standing on His Word and daring to believe what to man looks impossible?!

Are we yielding our members and our minds, aligning them with the Scriptures, and being converted and restored to a right standing with the Lord?!

What do we see?!