To My Daughters:
Some thoughts on Deuteronomy Chapter 1:6-8;19-21
So we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the LORD our God had commanded us. Then we came to Kadesh Barnea. And I said to you, 'You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.' --Deuteronomy 1:19-21
This section of Scripture is a review of the period from Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab. Most of this is covered in detail in the Book of Numbers. In verses 6-8 here in Chapter 1 of Deuteronomy, God commands them to go into the land promised and possess it.
The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: 'You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates. See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their descendants after them.'
God set the land before them...He told them to go in and possess it. Moses reiterates this in verse 21 and tells them not to be fearful or discouraged...
Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.'
It is fearful to step out in faith...to move out of your comfort zone. The children of Israel had seen God's power in Egypt...they had seen the parting of the Red Sea and yet they were still fearful. This is so very human. God knows our weakness...He wants us to cry out to Him in it and trust Him. Sadly, the children of Israel allowed their fear of the giants in the land to consume them. The promise of the land was delayed 40 years until all but two of that generation (Joshua and Caleb) died in the wilderness.
My own personal experience with fear has been that it creeps in when I am not walking by faith...when I lack the courage to move ahead according to God's plan for me. I have experienced much grief and upheaval in my life over the past two years...there have been times when I have been surprised by fear. Searching my heart carefully I realized that it stems from a lack of trust in God. I look at the snapshot of my past...a past I can no longer return to and into a view of the future which is shrouded in fog. It feels much safer to stay in that no man's land in between rather than forge ahead. As believers, however, we remember that our faith is not in people or in circumstances...it is in God. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being. He is faithful...He will surround you like a shield and you will find His grace, goodness and mercy filling every step of faith that you take!
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; --Philippians 1:6
Love
Mom
