Impact - Day 33

Day 33 – The Destructive Power of Negativity

Numbers 13:31-14:6, 9 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “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? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”

Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel. Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. They said to all the people of Israel… “Do not rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

“God is in control.”

While this statement is powerfully true, it can be used as a cop-out and an excuse for bad decision-making. If Numbers 13 and 14 teach us anything, it demonstrates that God will allow us to make terrible decisions even when they result in decades of wandering and severe delays in the plans He has for us. This has been true ever since He gave us the power of choice, and sin began.

God wanted the spies to explore the land, gather samples of the crops, and return to describe what it could be like in this new place once He had cleared the way of their enemies. Instead, the nay-sayers eliminated God from the equation and became fixated on how impossible it would be to overcome the giants. When they described themselves as grasshoppers in the view of the Anakites, they inadvertently revealed their view that God is little more than a grasshopper Himself. 

Then, having administered a solid dose of fear, negativity did mighty work. Overnight, the people stewed and grumbled and repeated their skepticism. By morning, a full mutiny of Moses’ leadership was swinging into action as he, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua made last-ditch efforts to persuade the people. But it was too late. As the mob prepared to murder the two dissenting spies unwilling to join in their fatalistic thoughts, God appeared in a powerful fireball of glory to announce He was putting a stop to the nonsense.  God’s people would be allowed to shelve His plans in favor of their own, even though it meant He had to wait until that generation passed away.

Just because we are God’s people doesn’t mean we can’t derail His plans. God IS in control, but He exercises His authority to give us autonomy and the opportunity to impact His plans. Serving a God who spends His power this way is impressive and humbling. It should also make us cautious about allowing our negativity to run wild.

1. Do you find it easier to say yes or no to ideas presented to you? Why do you think that is?
2. Have you ever been asked your opinion only to find that the person asking has no intention of honoring it? How does that make you feel?
3. What negative thoughts have you struggled with recently? How would you like Jesus to help you with them?