Day 43: Numbers 13, 14 and 15

We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. (Numbers 14:4)

After the spies came back from their Canaan reconnaissance, they couldn't spread their bad news fast enough: We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them (13:33). After infecting their neighbors with fear, they tried to organize a “return to Egypt” movement. We should choose a leader.

Obviously, in spite of their complaint, the problem here was not the lack of a leader, but the lack of followers. Of the twelve spies sent into Canaan, ten saw only the problems, while Joshua and Caleb saw the possibilities. And, as usual, the naysayers carried the day.

When I stand before the judgment bar of God, I pray that I'm not counted among those who stopped the forward momentum of the church because they saw their glasses as half empty.

The Israelites wanted to choose a leader who would take them, with their tails between their legs, back to Egypt. In other words, they were looking for someone who would take polls and follow majority rule. That's not leadership. Leaders don't let a group turn tail because of fear; they confront that fear and find one way or another to move the group forward.

Our greatest opportunities often come disguised as our biggest problems. Rather than fomenting fear, God wants us to catalyze those in our sphere of influence to do great things.

How would you describe your glass these days?