Positive attitude to life – Part 3

Text: Philippians 4:8; Numbers 14
Key Verse: Numbers 13:31 “But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.”

A negative attitude will hold you back, cause you to wander in the wilderness of sin and keep you from entering the Promised Land. The children of Israel, upon their arrival at Kadesh Barnea, which bordered the Promised Land of Canaan, sent out twelve spies to survey the land and its people (Numbers 13:18-25). They returned after forty days of exploration. Ten of the spies had a bad report: “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are…All the people we saw were of great size…We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes” (Numbers 13:31-33). Only Joshua and Caleb dissented (Numbers 14:6-7). Believing the report of the ten doubters, the people lost heart and rebelled. They “raised their voices and wept aloud,” grumbling against Moses and Aaron, saying, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword” (Numbers 14:1-2, emphasis added).

Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will they refuse to believe in Me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them” (Numbers 14:11). However, Moses once again interceded for his people and turned away the wrath of God (Numbers 14:13-20). Although God did forgive them, He decided “not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it” (Numbers 14:23). Rather, they would suffer by wandering in the wilderness for forty years; one year for each of the forty days they explored the land (Numbers 14:34). Furthermore, God would give them what they asked for: “I will do the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall, every one of you twenty years old or more” (Numbers 14:28-29). Additionally, the ten men who had given the bad report were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord (Numbers 14:37). Only Joshua and Caleb survived, the two faithful spies who believed God’s promise to give the land over to them.

God had promised them victory. The land He commanded them to go in and take was already theirs; they simply had to trust and obey, but this they did not do. God will never lead us where His grace cannot provide for us or His power cannot protect us. Indeed, the Israelites had seen the powerful hand of God at work during the plagues and miracles of the Exodus. Yet, like many people, they walked by sight and not by faith, and their unbelief displeased God. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). Their failure to believe in God’s word kept them from entering the Promised Land. This truth has never changed.

Caleb and Joshua were “different”. They had a different disposition, a different focus on life, and a different attitude toward God and His work. What were some of the attributes of their attitudes?

• Faith: They said, “We are well able to overcome” (13:30).

• Confidence: Concerning the Canaanites Joshua said, “The people are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us” (14:9).

• Courage: Joshua said, “fear them not” (14:9). He was not afraid of the giants, the walled cities or the strength of the people.

• Action: Caleb said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it” (13:30). Positive people say, “Let’s go and do it now!”

• Thankfulness: They understood the land was a gift from God, a blessing due to His delight in them (14:7-8). True appreciation for one’s blessings will lead to action and obedience.

We need the positive traits of faith, confidence, and courage, coupled with action and an appreciation of God’s blessings to lead us on to victory.

Will you and I decide to develop the disposition like God’s two heroes of old? Or will we be like those shameful spies, who brought back the negative report? Don’t be a whiner! Be a winner for God!

Today’s Nugget: Don’t be a whiner! Be a winner for God!

Prayer: Lord, help me to develop positive disposition like Joshua and Caleb.

Prayer line: Send text only to 09078154261.

Dr. Chidi Okoroafor, General Superintendent,
Assemblies of God Nigeria
E-mail: evangelgospel@yahoo.com