Let's Get Smart!

Growing up in the late 60's and early 70's, one of my favorite TV shows was Get Smart, a comedy featuring a bumbling spy known as Maxwell Smart and his spy side-kick, Agent 99. Max is best known for the telephone hidden in the sole of his shoe. I guess one of the purposes of the show was to relieve some of the anxiety of that Cold War era.

Spies have always played an important role in history. Basically, they have fulfilled one of two roles - secretly getting the lay of the land, so to speak, or infiltrating the enemy to gather intelligence.

Moses sent in a group of spies to get a look at the Promised Land before they were allowed to go in and claim it. They needed to know what they were going up against. Moses chose a man from each of the twelve tribes, excluding the priestly tribe of Levi. The account of their mission is found in Numbers 13-14.

The spies spent 40 days surveying the entire land and even brought back some of the bountiful fruit they found. They reported that the fruit was only a sample, that the land "certainly does flow with milk and honey..." In other words, it was all that had been promised and more! But here's the kicker. Nine of the eleven said, "Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there." (The descendants of Anak were a race of abnormally large people - giants like Goliath.) They went on to say, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us...we will be devoured..."

Now, this is the land that God promised Abraham generations before. And He said He would give them the land flowing with milk and honey. So, something is not adding up!

Well, there were two of the spies who did not agree with the other nine. Caleb and Joshua. In Numbers 14, all of the people of Israel began grumbling and complaining to and against Moses and Aaron, and even saying they were better off in Egyptian captivity. In the midst of that chaos and their fear, those two men stood up and pleaded with the people to remember the promises of God and the many provisions He had accomplished for them. They said, "If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us...only do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey."

On one side, we hear the nine voices of fear, and on the other side, we hear the two voices of faith.

Isn't it the same for us today? We sense where God is leading us, what He wants us to do, who He wants us to share Jesus with, but we are conflicted by the voices of fear and the voices of faith. And many times, just like in the account of the Israelites, the voices of fear seem to out number those of faith, and fear is a human reaction that is fanned by peer pressure.

Thankfully, Moses was able to re-focus the people, to help them remember all that God had done for them and how He had always proven Himself truthful and faithful. After days of prayer, fasting, and preparation, they were ready to face the giants and take the land God had promised them. But before they could, they had to cross the Jordan River during the flood season. God was ready to provide and make their way possible if they were ready to walk in faith and not fear.

Joshua 3 records the miraculous account of crossing the Jordan. Joshua organized the people by their tribes with the Levite priests, carrying the ark of the covenant, going first. The priests were to approach the raging, flooding river and literally stand in its waters. Joshua said, "It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap."

And so they did. When the priests' feet stood in the edge of the water, the river was parted, and they stood in the middle of the Jordan River with the ark while the nation of Israel passed by on dry ground! The rest, as they say, is history. However, the fulfillment of God's promise was not a piece of cake. There were wars to fight, cities to capture, and evil to root out. But God was faithful and continued to admonish the people to be strong and courageous and to remember that He would be with them wherever they went.

When we are faced with a holy task or a holy opportunity (holy meaning this is God's will), we will hear the voices of fear and the voices of faith. Which voices will you listen to? Which voices will you act upon? When you look over what God wants you to do, how He wants you to procede. Which voices will influence you?

A mighty lesson learned from these Biblical accounts teaches us that faith - even in the midst of a larger outcry of fear - faith cripples fear! It was faith that caused the Israelites to cross the flooding Jordan on dry ground! Their fear could have kept them from experiencing the blessings God had waiting for them in the Promised Land. But their faith in the Lord God and His promises, overcame their fear and led them to the victory God had promised.

It's time for us to get smart and listen to the voices of faith and procede to cross our Jordans. It is also time for us to decide which voice we will be.

Will you be one of the nine - a voice of fear, one that says, "We've never done this before." "This is too big for us!" "This just won't work." "I'm afraid I'll fail."?

Or...

Will you be one of the two - a voice of faith, one that says, "If God is in it, then I can do it." "It may not be easy, but count me in!" "I want to be where God wants me to be." "I can do all things through Christ who lives in me!"?

It is a personal choice for each one of us: fear that disables, or faith that enables....Let's get spiritually smart!