No Committees

See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it ~ Deuteronomy 1:21

Our current journey--mine and my husband's--began much the same way as the journey for Moses and the Israelites. They'd been going along and then God said, "It's time to move into the next phase. Go to this place that I'm telling you and move in and take over the place like you own it." So, the next step should have been easy, right? But it wasn't. Not for the Israelites and not for us. The Israelites made one move and we, another. The Israelites went to Moses and said, "'Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report...' The idea seemed good to me," (Deuteronomy 1:22-23). That statement right there, "seemed good to me" is where a lot of people get themselves into problems. God gives us a command, but we're not sure. Now, our uncertainty may be because we're new at trusting God, we're new at hearing His voice, whatever the case, we determine to get others' opinions. That's always a mistake. If I want to know what Sally thinks, the shortest and least painful route is to ask Sally. But so often, we ask Sally's best friend and Sally's boss, and her mom, and her neighbor, but we never ask Sally. It's the same with God; we ask our friends, our parents, our co-workers, etc., but we never ask God. When God gives us a command and we're uncertain, we need to go back to Him and ask for clarity.

Unfortunately for the Israelites, Moses listened to their idea of sending out a committee and they reported back that the way was not good or easy. As punishment for their disobedience, God made them travel in the desert for 40 years and not one of the complainers was allowed to go into the Promise Land.

When Brad & I were asked if we wanted to go to a new area and claim it for Jesus, we said no, but we agreed to spend a week praying about it. We agreed that we wouldn't talk to anybody about it--not even each other--because we didn't want to be talked into or out of something, because we wanted only to hear from God. I didn't really need to pray, because I already knew. But, because I said I would, I prayed and asked God what He wanted us to do. He didn't have to say much to me. He simply said, "What did you see?" When I saw where we were going, I thought to myself, "That's my city and those are my people."

When you take possession of something, you own it and it becomes an important part of you. When God gives you something and says, "Go in and take possession," don't take a poll, don't send out a committee, just listen and obey.

And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there...However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given me ~ Acts 20:22, 24