Choosing the blessing...

At many occasions, because we are afraid of change, because we are too comfortable with our current condition, because we are too eager to settle or because we faced and lost so many battles, we stop fighting. We tend to become lazy, too lazy to take a bet and start something new, too lazy to keep on fighting and try again, too lazy to start learning again, too lazy to start building again from scratch. We refuse to choose the blessing that God puts right in front of us, we refuse to answer YES to His invitation, we refuse to go into the direction He is showing us, we refuse to enter into the purpose He prepared for us…

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses spoke on behalf of God saying : “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in His ways, and by keeping His commandments and His statutes and His rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. […] Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20 ESV). God makes it very clear that the choice is ours, however, being so loving, merciful and caring, He advises and asks us to choose life. Yet, In practice, depending on the very circumstances we find ourselves in, we sometimes fail to discern what this choice is; this decision that will bring us into life, into His blessing, His rest, His peace. We become so much subjected to the noise of the others with their expectations and dreams for us that we end up shutting down, shutting the dreams and goals that God put within us, shutting down these plans that He prepared for us only, these purposes that He wished to achieve through us. In these times, we unknowingly burry the seeds God planted within us, we refuse to be used as instruments for Him to have His way in order to inspire and heal other people as He heals and inspires us at the same time.

In the Bible, God wanted to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites, a land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 13:27), a land He promised to give to their forefathers very long ago through the promise and alliance He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. However, when the Israelites left Egypt with Moses and Aaron, they had a lot of doubts and reservations concerning the promises of God; they kept on complaining and testing Him, thinking they would die in the wilderness since they considered themselves too weak to conquer these lands; they thought of themselves as unable to make these cities’ fortresses and people fall into their hands. When Moses sent the spies to Canaan (Numbers 13), they came back with a very bad report from the land. The land was indeed great but his inhabitants were perceived as too strong; the spies described the people of Israel as grasshoppers in comparison to these (Numbers 13:33). However, among the spies, only Caleb and Joshua had faith in God, pressing the Israelites to be strong and courageous and trust in the Lord. They both encouraged the people of Israel to rely on God to go to the battle and take their promised land; they said that if the Lord delights in them, He will bring them into the land and give it to them […] Only, they should not rebel against God nor fear the people of the land (Numbers 14:7-9). Still, the Israelites refused to listen and set themselves to stone Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 14:10). The Israelites were driven by fear, they lacked faith in God, they saw the people of the land as bigger and stronger than them, forgetting that it was the bigger and stronger hand of God that had brought them that far. They rejected God’s promise, they rejected the Grace, they declined it as if God had not proved enough to them that they were chosen and loved, that He was almighty and powerful, that He was for them.

When God finally spoke, the Israelites realised their fault but it was too late; God had already set Himself to punish them for not listening, not trusting, not obeying. They were not supposed to last that long in the desert, but because of their lack of faith, they ended up spending 40 years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33-34). This story for sure echoes within each of us, it is still relevant; how many times in our lives did we refuse the opportunity to start something because we didn’t feel good enough, we didn’t feel worth it, we didn’t feel we would succeed? How many times did we reject some offers? How many times did we refuse to go with our guts and try? How many times did we refuse to try again? How many times did we refuse to try harder? How many times did we end up running in circles, stagnating, not evolving, regretting our past decisions, our past choices? And then, when we finally realise, the opportunity is long gone, the people are no longer available, they moved on while we stay on the sidelines hoping to have known better. For the people of Israel indeed, when they realised their mistake and decided to go and take the land, they were defeated because it was too late for God had already set His mind on His punishment (Numbers 14: 39-45).

Nevertheless, what we really need to take away from the story of the Israelites is that God is a faithful God, steadfast in love, always giving second chances, third chances, fourth chances…. In Numbers 23:19, Balaam affirmed that God is not a man that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has he said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfil it? Behold, I received a command to bless: He has blessed and I cannot revoke it (ESV). At this moment of the story, Balak, King of Moab, wanted to curse the Israelites and defeat them. He therefore called Balaam the prophet to do it for him. But Balaam could not curse Israel because God had already commanded a blessing upon them. The people of Israel, even if they were very stubborn and unfaithful, even if they lacked wisdom, patience and understanding, causing them to spend 40 years in the wilderness, they finally entered into their promised land. It took more time than intended but they finally learned and understood, and all of God’s promises came to pass, none of them failed (Joshua 21:45). It was not God’s fault if it took more time, it was Israel’s fault, and their story teaches us a valuable lesson. We should learn to hear, discern, listen and most importantly, obey God’s Word. It is true that it is not something that is learned on the spot but rather, through trials and errors over time. However, God put His people around us, so we should learn how to humble ourselves and ask for advice, reach out for help. We should not be afraid to be honest and vulnerable in sharing our story, our fears, our doubts, and seek assistance from the people who are able to guide us, direct us, advise us. We should always be willing to hear, and to answer Yes to God, following the example of many before us such as Abraham, Mary, the Apostles, Paul…We should always remember that God’s invitation is not an invitation to failure, but an invitation to grow, to evolve, to be stronger, to persevere, to gain, to inspire, to love, to trust, to realise, to build, to achieve.

Hence, let’s follow the example of the Prophet Isaiah when God asked: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Question to which Isaiah answered: “Here I am! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8 ESV). Like Isaiah, let’s be bold, let’s be courageous, let’s shut down our fears, doubts, apprehensions, let’s dive deep, right through the action, and accept to be sent on our different missions and tasks, always trusting and following God’s directives to win with Him and enter into our blessings.