My favorite New Years Eve happened before the infamous Y2K. I pulled a practical joke that made the people in my grandmother’s house believe their fears about the future were true.
(Picture: By Flickr user: 29cm CC-BY-SA-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
My relatives had gathered to watch the televised countdown at New York City’s Times Square. Midnight hit America first on the east coast, so all eyes waited to see what would happen at midnight.
- Would all power go dark in America?
- Would computers suddenly stop working?
- Should we stockpile more food?
While no one was looking, I snuck outside and found the breaker box to my grandmother’s house.
I could hear Dick Clark counting down from where I stood outside.
“THREE, TWO, ONE . . . HAPPY NEW Y—” Everything went dark as the power went off in the house.
Making my way back inside, my relatives were scurrying to find candles and flashlights. “It’s gonna be okay,” they said, “everything’s going to be okay!” After a while, I switched back on the power. Turns out their fear of the future was completely unfounded.
So were all of our fears about Y2K. Honestly, our spiritual lives are the same.
Fear Isn’t How to Face the Future
What if you could send scouts into your future, have them look around, and bring back a report of what awaits you? Would you be too fearful to face the future?
At Kadesh Barnea, Moses dispatched 12 spies to bring back a report of the land.
When they returned, the men described the region just as God had promised they would find it: “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:17; Numbers 13:27). The phrase meant that the land contained an abundance of wild vegetation (for herds) and flowers (for bees)—an appealing description to a nation of Hebrew shepherds.
(Photo: Gustave Doré Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
A Land of Milk, Honey . . . and Giants
But the land also revealed an intimidating problem. The spies saw “men of great size” there (Numbers 13:32). The majority of the spies brought back a bad report, because they focused on their weakness (compared to the giants) and not on God’s strength.
The nation possessed all they needed to enter the land—except the faith to proceed.
How to Face the Future
Put yourself in their sandals. Like the spies, would you see that it was impossible to continue? Or would you have the eyes of Caleb, who saw not the size of the obstacles, but the size of his God?
In a way, these spies have revealed your future. Here it is:
- The plans God has for you lie along a path of blessing and hardship.
- The land of milk and honey also has giants. It always will.
- The only way to move ahead in God’s will comes by faith in God’s power above your own (Habakkuk 2:4).
So trust the Almighty, who never lets one promise fall to the ground, and face the future with faith.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, but our fears are in the name of man. . . .We fear men so much, because we fear God so little. —William Greenhill
Tell me what you think: Is there anything you fear about the future? To leave a comment, just click here.
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This post is adapted from Wayne’s book, Going Places with God: A Devotional Journey Through the Lands of the Bible.
• These 90 devotional readings, each based on a specific place in the lands of the Bible, will help you apply the truths of God’s Word to your daily journey of faith.
• You’ll enjoy pertinent Scripture, inspirational quotes, photographs, maps, and a daily prayer.
After going places with God, you’ll never be the same.