Casting Your Vote

“If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. “Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle?”   Numbers 14:2-3

“Let us die in this desert rather than deal with these fierce enemies!” That’s what the people said, and that’s exactly what God allowed them to do. It is easy for us to sit in comfortable surroundings and imagine that if we had been asked to vote on entering Canaan, we would have shouted, “Yes!” I wonder if we would have.

True, God had done many things for the people. He had led them out of Egypt, forgiven their sins, and provided them with food every day in the desert. But they recognized that now the Lord was asking them to do something that would be very costly—enter a pagan land, Canaan, and take ground that had become a stronghold of Satan. That would mean war, and people would die in the fighting.

Put yourself in their shoes. If you were one of the women, would you vote for entering Canaan when you knew your husband could be one of those whose lives would be taken? If you were one of the men, would you vote for a military campaign that could involve up to seven years of active military service?

I can understand why, when crunch time came, many people were happy to stay in the desert, offering their sacrifices and enjoying God’s presence. They could have all their evenings at home, raise their children in peace, and continue to enjoy the blessing of God that they had known since they left Egypt. Yet it was God who was calling them forward.

This seemed to have carried little weight with these people. Many of them seemed to have lost their first love for the Lord. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you still remember the joy of having new faith in Christ, but now you wonder if the personal cost of obedience to the will of God is too high.

Don’t lose heart. Begin by asking God for crystal clarity about your calling. Then ask him to make you ready to pay any cost, and finally, ask him to help you keep your eyes focused on the crown that lies beyond the cross.

For further reading, see Luke 14