Conditioned On Faith

Conditioned on Faith

[The LORD said,] “Not one of these people will ever enter that land. . . . None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.” Numbers 14:22-23

GOD’S PEOPLE HAD BEEN DELIVERED from severe oppression in Egypt through a dramatic rescue involving deadly plagues, a pursuing army, and a miraculously parted sea. God gave them food and drink in a barren and dry wilderness, protected them from attacks, and sent them in the direction of their land of promise. The entire objective centered on serving and worshiping God and having a place of their own. But when the time came to enter the land, they didn’t worship or believe the place could be their own. In spite of all they had seen, almost all of the Hebrew people implicitly assumed God could not fulfill his promise.

That attitude tends to develop in our lives in subtle ways. Few believers, then or now, would directly state that God can’t fulfill his promises, but our thoughts and actions essentially make that case against him. We pray for direction and assurances, and we receive them clearly, yet we still talk about obstacles and challenges that could make our situations impossible. We read of “great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4) and follow them up with “yes, but . . . ,” as if God’s promises are contingent on circumstances or “realistic” possibilities. We list pros and cons even after he has given us guidance, as if any pros or cons make a difference in how he guides. We undermine our own faith without even realizing we’re doing it.

That attitude has devastating repercussions. Many of God’s promises are conditional, and faith is usually the primary condition. When he has given a clear promise or clear direction, none of the details we see have anything to do with whether that promise or direction is true. When we talk and act as if they do, we are, from God’s perspective, treating him “with contempt.” He takes it personally. As his followers, our job is to prioritize what he has said above all else—above giant obstacles, impossible defenses, or any other lie standing in the way of our promised land. His word trumps all others, and when we attach our faith to it, problems and obstacles must bow before his will.

All unbelief is the belief of a lie.