13 February | EVERYONE
“If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” Numbers 14: 8,9
Every day the palm trees woke up with more ripe dates, distilling a sweet syrup like honey. The grape-laden vines bent almost to the ground. It was a land flowing with milk and honey. God had already given that land to Israel. What need did they have to send spies? From a military point of view, it may have been a clever idea, but not from a divine perspective.
Still, the spies went to investigate. They did not find anything that God had not already told them. It was a land of plenty and inhabited by warlike people. They walked eighty-eight kilometers, looking out over the wondrous land that the Lord had promised Abraham and his descendants. They were now at the gates. They just had to go ahead and take hold of the promise, but they failed.
Ten of the spies returned with a pessimistic and deceitful report. "The land we visited devours its inhabitants," they said. And how then, did they come back alive? "Its inhabitants are so big that we looked like grasshoppers before them," they reported (cf. Numbers 13:32-33). Lies! No human being, no matter how small, can look like a grasshopper before another. But fear is like that. It makes you see ghosts or imaginary giants.
However, Joshua and Caleb rebuked their companions, as we read in today's text. A great lesson is that there is no insurmountable obstacle for those who trust in God. The giants who come against you will return the same way they came. The land where milk and honey flows is yours. Take hold of it by the name of the Lord!
Take Action
Surrender to God today the "giants" and problems in your life with the certainty that He will lead you to the true land where milk and honey flow. Sing "Milk and Honey" (if possible, with your family).