The Upper Room Daily Devotional from Nashville, Tennessee, United States “LOOKING FOR GOD” for Thursday, 28 July 2016 with Scripture: Numbers 13:26-14:9

The Upper Room Daily Devotional from Nashville, Tennessee, United States “LOOKING FOR GOD” for Thursday, 28 July 2016 with Scripture: Numbers 13:26 and went to Moshe, Aharon and the entire community of the people of Isra’el at Kadesh in the Pa’ran Desert, where they brought back word to them and to the entire community and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 What they told him was this: “We entered the land where you sent us, and indeed it does flow with milk and honey — here is its fruit! 28 However the people living in the land are fierce, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the ‘Anakim there. 29 ‘Amalek lives in the area of the Negev; the Hitti, the Y’vusi and the Emori live in the hills; and the Kena‘ani live by the sea and alongside the Yarden.”
30 Kalev silenced the people around Moshe and said, “We ought to go up immediately and take possession of it; there is no question that we can conquer it.” 31 But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people, because they are stronger than we are”; 32 and they spread a negative report about the land they had reconnoitered for the people of Isra’el by saying, “The land we passed through in order to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there were giant! 33 We saw the N’filim, the descendants of ‘Anak, who was from the N’filim; to ourselves we looked like grasshoppers by comparison, and we looked that way to them too!”
14:1 At this all the people of Isra’el cried out in dismay and wept all night long. 2 Moreover, all the people of Isra’el began grumbling against Moshe and Aharon; the whole community told them, “We wish we had died in the land of Egypt! or that we had died here in the desert! 3 Why is Adonai bringing us to this land, where we will die by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be taken as booty! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt!”
5 Moshe and Aharon fell on their faces before the entire assembled community of the people of Isra’el. 6 Y’hoshua the son of Nun and Kalev the son of Y’funeh, from the detachment that had reconnoitered the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the whole community of Isra’el, “The land we passed through in order to spy it out is an outstandingly good land! (iii) 8 If Adonai is pleased with us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us — a land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Just don’t rebel against Adonai. And don’t be afraid of the people living in the land — we’ll eat them up! Their defense has been taken away from them, and Adonai is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”
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Caleb . . . said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”[Numbers 13:30 (NIV)]
When Moses sent 12 spies to see a land God had promised to give the Israelites, the scouts came back with a unanimous report about what they had seen: This land flowed with milk and honey, but formidable people guarded it.
Ten of the spies concluded they should give up all plans to possess a place filled with such intimidating people. But Caleb and Joshua argued that they should enter this bountiful land according to God’s promise. Had these two missed something? What about the guards in their daun ting strongholds? But it was the 10, not Caleb and Joshua, who had missed something. The 10 failed to see God in the picture, while Caleb and Joshua envisioned God shaping the outcome. They recalled God’s past actions and trusted God’s promises for the future.
Global problems and personal challenges often demand our attention. But, like the 10 spies, we often fail to see God’s presence in those circumstances. When we look for God in the picture, we can see things more clearly. We can step confidently into the future — however alarming it looks — and trust the Good Shepherd to lead the way.
Read more from the author, here.
More from Cindy Widmer

Recently a friend’s five-year-old wore her new glasses to school for the first time. The teacher later told him the child had spent the day quietly, turning her head and gazing slowly around the room. She’d lingered over everything, enjoying all that she hadn’t seen before.
Her experience of discovery and delight has made me wonder: when my vision grows cloudy, what clarifies it and brings me back to joy in the Lord?
Lingering with the Savior does it. Quietly thinking over what the Scriptures say does it. Listening to the Calebs and Joshuas in my life does it (as I mentioned in my devotional).
I think there’s more, though. I’m not just to listen to the Calebs and Joshuas but to be like them—to pay attention to seeing God clearly. If I do, others can see God more clearly through me, too. This reminds me that I once heard that camels struggle to see after sandstorms because they can’t clear the sand away from their eyes. So instead, they blow the sand away from each others’ eyes. I believe we have the same responsibility to help the people around us see clearly.[Cindy Widmer]
The Author: Cynthia Widmer (New York, USA)
Thought for the Day: Today I will remember God’s past faithfulness to me.
Prayer: Dear Lord, when horizons before us seem overwhelming, fill us with confidence in you. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prayer focus: PEACE IN OUR WORLD

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