We pray and ask God for our deepest desires. Sometimes, we see that what we long for is happening. Why, then, would we ever sabotage it?

This is exactly what the nation of Israel did long ago. With God’s help, Moses had led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, right to the door of Canaan, the land God had promised to Abraham’s descendants. God then instructed Moses to send men to explore the land. Upon their return, the spies announced that the land was rich with blessings, but ten of the twelve spies shared their fears of the inhabitants.

Joshua and Caleb, the other two spies, warned Israel, “If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land . . . and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them” (Numbers 14:8-9).

What happened? Israel chose to abandon any plans of moving forward to take the Promised Land as their own. The generation that had seen God protect them from the ten plagues suffered by Egypt, walked between the parted Red Sea on dry land, received water from a rock, and manna from heaven refused to trust God with their next step.

God longed to answer Israel’s prayer for freedom and land ownership. It was Israel who chose fear over faith. The result? Forty years of wandering in the desert until that generation died off. The next generation would move forward to conquer the Promised Land.

Lesson learned? When God answers our prayers with opportunities, let’s remember:

• Do not fear.
• God will lead us.
• God is with us.

Go forward in faith!