Have you ever been accused of being overcautious?
Some of you have, I'm sure, but others of you, likely, are more of the
"daredevil" type. You throw caution to the wind and continue on just for the
thrill of trying something "dangerous".
I'd like to say that in this world, there is a distinct place for both.
In the physical realm, most of us would do better if we were a bit more
cautious. After all, the world is not what it used to be. You can't leave your
car doors unlocked anymore. You have to be careful letting your kids walk to the
corner store. You need to worry about what friends they are playing with. You
have to lock the doors of your homes. You constantly need to check out every
situation.
By the same token, many of us need to be more "daredevilish". For example, some
become so focussed on the dangers of life that they never allow themselves to
live. After all, when you look at everything as potentially dangerous, you will
never do anything at all. Friends, we do need to be cautious, but at the same
time, we also need to trust God to protect us so that we can enjoy the beautiful
things in life.
It isn't any different in the Spiritual realm. Some Christians are of the
"overcautious" type. God tries to speak, and they rationalize that God doesn't
talk to us "in that way" anymore. Or they listen, but they say, "I can't be sure
that was God!" Then they ask several other people to pray about it, and they
proceed to pray about it, continuously seeking clarification and further
direction. Meanwhile, the opportunity simply slips away. Or, perhaps even worse,
they consider what God has said, and then they look to the circumstances and put
their trust in circumstance instead of in the Almighty God.
Others are a bit more "daredevilish". They don't wait to see if it is God
leading them or not, they simply react on whatever their feelings are telling
them at the moment.
Again I say, we do need to be cautious. We do need to make sure we are listening
to God's voice, and not the voice of the devil trying to lead us astray. But by
the same token, we also need to be daredevils. When it is God speaking, we need
to go ahead with it, no matter what circumstances tell us, always trusting Him
to bring us through.
If you look back through history, you learn about people who did have the right
balance of cautiousness and daredevilishness. Paul would be one good example.
But you also see many examples of people who didn't. Like the children of
Israel. They watched God miraculously deliver them from Egypt, they witnessed
miracle upon miracle of food and water, freedom from disease, etc, only to get
right up to the border of Canaan and refuse to enter without first scouting
ahead to see what faced them:
"See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it
as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged.' Then all of you came to me and said, 'Let us send men ahead to spy
out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and
the towns we will come to.' The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of
you, one man from each tribe. They left and went up into the hill country, and
came to the Valley of Eshcol and explored it." (Deut. 1:21-24)
Initial reports were very positive: "Taking with them some of the fruit of the
land, they brought it down to us and reported, 'It is a good land that the LORD
our God is giving us.'" (Deut. 1:25)
But despite this, they refused to enter. Why? Because of the report of giants in
the land: "But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of
the LORD your God. You grumbled in your tents and said, 'The LORD hates us; so
he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to
destroy us. Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say,
"The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with
walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there."'" (Deut. 1:26-28)
Where did the people go wrong?
In asking to spy out the land! After all the miracles they had witnessed
first-hand while since Egypt, they still didn't have enough faith that He would
keep His promises! They decided to rely on something tangible, something they
could physically experience! And as is so often the case when God tells us to
take a step out in faith, the circumstantial evidence didn't come in too
positive. Instead of trusting God, they chose to trust circumstance.
The result? They wandered in the wilderness until all of the current generation
had died. Only then were they allowed to enter in.
But let's not be so hard on Israel. Few Christians would have done differently.
God is constantly telling us to do things that circumstantially seem wrong, and
instead of relying on Him, we look to the situation. As a result, many of us
miss out on the blessings God has in store for us.
Yes, it is important to check out the message you receive. But after you've done
that, don't stop to look around for possible outcomes. Don't send in spies to
test the waters. If you do, you'll get so caught up in the circumstances that
you'll also forget Who is sending you! Instead, take that step out into faith!
And in doing so, you will save yourself from having to wander aimlessly through
the wilderness of life when your life could have been richly blessed.
Lyn Chaffart
, Mother of two teens, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly
internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian
devotionals and inspirational poems,
www.scripturalnuggets.org ,with Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org .
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.