We love Him because He First loved us. 1 John 4:19
Background.
In Numbers 13:1 says, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran to spy on the land. Beloved each man was a leader. The Bible gives a list of their names. There were two of the men named Joshua and Caleb that are true leaders. After forty days of spying out the land, ten of the men lied about what they saw, they planted doubt in the minds of the Israelites. God said He would give them the land. This is the same God that delivered them from slavery, parted the Red Sea, gave them water to drink from a rock, manna from heaven and quail to eat. But they did not trust God. They let fear be their first response. In Numbers 14: 6-10 Joshua and Caleb speak the truth to the Israelites, “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into His land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land; for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”
This rebellion cost the Israelites. First the ten lied, then the Israelites believed the lie. The cost is the ten died immediately and the adult Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years until all that believed the lie did not cross over to the land flowing with milk and honey.
My five-minutes of thoughts on the word First.
First things first. Blessings occur when we first obey. Israel continued to rebel against God. God asks Moses in Numbers 14:11, “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?” Moses persuades God to not destroy them by reminding God that the Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy. However, He lets the Israelites suffer consequences of rebellion because no one over the age of 20 years of age were allowed to enter the Promised Land except for Joshua and Caleb. In the garden of Eden, the first thing Satan did was to create confusion and doubt in the mind of Eve. We do not know why ten of the spies lied, was it the fear of the unknown, was it doubt that God would give them the land. I would like to think it was fear. Fear is the first spiral that separates us from God. What are you afraid of? Fear of failure, fear of not being loved, fear of rejection are just a few fears that have ruled my heart. The story would have been different if the Israelites first went to God with their doubts and fears in prayer. Today, you can name your fear, renounce the fear and then stand in the truth that God who did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind according to 2 Timothy 1:7. So your prayer to God would look like this, “Father God, I am afraid of never being loved, but I renounce the fear of not being loved because the truth is that you love me and did not give me a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.” Have you accepted the only legitimate fear object who is Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you gone to the Lord with your fears or are you turning to advice from others that may be feeding your fears? Blessings.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
According to Dr. Jeremiah in his Bible, Meekness is not weakness but power under control. It implies a humble acceptance of one’s lowly position before God. By trusting in Him, the meek will inherit the blessings of God’s fulfilled promises.
Beloved, God loved us first and that is why we love him. His love is trustworthy, His love will rescue you from your fears.
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