Day One -- October 21, 2018

They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.
Numbers 13:27-28

We’re doing what? Haven’t you read the headlines? Haven’t you seen the news? How can we even think about having a stewardship campaign in this kind of an economy? You must be nuts. It doesn’t require a great deal of imagination to think that some of the same comments were being made to Moses after the return of the spies from their visit to the Promised Land. Even without headlines screaming disaster and 24 hour news trumpeting crisis after crisis; one can almost imagine the people of Israel saying some of the very same things. You want us to do what? You expect us to go into that land with those giants and those walls and forts. You’re crazy!

Then, as well as now, the issue is the same: Faith or Fear. There is the voice of the great tempter shouting to us words of fear; you can’t, you mustn’t, what if. But that is not the only voice. If we take the time to be quiet, to turn off the news, to put down the newspaper we will hear another voice, the voice of One who owns all of the cattle on the hillside; the voice of One who is the great I Am, not the small and insignificant what if.

The question, of course, becomes, which voice will we listen to? One wise pastor said that every church has two basic committees; a Back to Egypt committee ruled by fear and anxiety and an Into the Promised Land committee ruled by faith and hope. Which committee will you serve?

Remember, God isn’t asking for a decision about giving today. He is only asking you to listen to His voice.

Questions to consider

1. When have I listened to the voice of fear over faith? What were the results?
2. When have I listened to the voice of faith over fear? What were the results?

Prayer

Thank You, God, for Your calming voice of faith and hope in the midst of a world filled with fear and anxiety. Help me in the days that lie ahead to take time and listen for Your voice. Give me the courage to stand on the side of faith and hope rather than fear and doubt, Amen.