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There is continual testing in the life of faith. Our response to testing shapes our faith, as Israel's forty-years exodus illustrates. The wilderness testing of two generations produced different responses from each. The wilderness was a graveyard for one, a training ground for the other. "Trust" and "focus," two little words, express the difference between the defeat of one generation and the victory of their children in taking the Promised Land. The first generation gave up their inheritance of the Promised Land, fleeing from its dreaded inhabitants. The wilderness of Sinai was that generation's final resting-place. Their children crossed Jordan thirty-nine years later and took the land in a whirlwind campaign against the odds with only a few setbacks.
The first generation had seen greater miracles than had the next. They experienced the mighty hand of God's deliverance from Egyptian bondage; the Red Sea parted for their escape and then destroyed Pharaoh's pursuing army. God showered them with miracles, yet they thought of themselves as victims. In one year, covered by God's power, they had been freed from bondage, given the law at Sinai and were on the verge of entering into the Promised Land of rest. Instead, they surrendered their inheritance. They dreaded the strong people of the land, the fortified cities and the giants who lived there. Their focus was on themselves and so they were fearful.
Paul wrote of them, "They all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food and ... they drank from the spiritual Rock, Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert" (1 Corinthians 10:1-5). Their roadblock was that they would not trust God; they relied on their own thinking. Concentrating on their own strengths and weaknesses, they were self -centered and self -referenced even as they knew they were God's people. Their example was written as a warning to us.
I am reminded of an experience of many years ago when I was a professor at a major research university. A young Christian couple began a storefront church there. Jim, the young pastor, had been, as he openly acknowledged, a "jock". His sincerity and the personal experiences with God that he shared each Sunday attracted the student population. His Bible teaching emphasized doing the Word. He admitted to not being an intellectual. His teaching was aimed at their hearts rather than at their heads. It was a sharp contrast for them to the highly intellectual teaching they faced during the week. He was focused on God and confident in his ministry. The church grew steadily for the first 3 months.
The church declined when he shifted his attention to himself and on what he lacked. Sunday teaching moved towards spending most of the time on complex doctrinal issues. The emphasis transferred from doing the word to understanding it. His target became the head rather than the heart. He was acting more like their university professors than he had before. Concentration on overcoming his academic weakness placed his focus on himself. He knew he could not trust in himself, but he kept on trying to do so. During the next six months the church steadily declined and then came to an end.
Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust that never dreams that He will not stand by us. "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" Our Lord puts that question to me steadily. His purpose is that I draw closer to Him daily. His goal is that I depend on Him and His power now. God wants us to be so secure in Him that in any crisis we are confident; "God…has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore, we are always confident" (2 Cor. 5.5, 6).
Thirty-nine years after the first generation's failure to take the land, their children stood on the borders of the same land, facing the same giants. Most of them had not been born when God parted the Red Sea and did his greatest miracles. They too had seen the power of God in their journey, though somewhat less dramatically than the previous generation. But they also knew the obedient discipline of the wilderness, keeping God in focus and having confidence in him alone. To them Moses said, "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6). Confidently centered on God, they took the land.
An old hymn puts it this way:
Since my eyes were fixed on Jesus,
I've lost sight of all beside,
So enchained my spirit's vision
Looking at the crucified.
The key to a Christian's confidence is focusing on Jesus. Regardless of whether we win or lose a particular set of battles, steadfast confidence in Him, in every test we come up against, will develop our faith.
© CDMI - Free Bible Students
