fortified – Praying Pint

51.o. Wilderness – 15.u. “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.”

Deu 20:1-4  “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’

Deu 20:8  And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’

Deuteronomy 3:22   You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.’

Genesis 26:3     Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

Joshua 1:5     No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

2 Chronicles 32:7-8    “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.  With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Psalms 118:6     The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Romans 8:31    What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1 Corinthians 15:33    Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Deuteronomy 1:28    Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’

Israel, a small nation surrounded by great empires, was rarely in a strategically superior position. Despite the clear danger, they also had a clear command from God to not fear. Israel was commanded to not fear what any logical military man would fear: superior numbers, superior technology, and superior equipment. Yet, Israel was given a reason to not fear. God did not deny that the enemies of Israel would usually have more horses, chariots, and people than Israel. But God asked them to recognize a greater fact: That the LORD your God is with you. It was the job of the priest to encourage the soldiers to trust in God. Though the priests were not normally to go into battle. When Israel was obedient, and trusting in God, they could never lose. But when they were disobedient, or not trusting, they could never win – even if they had superior forces.

To God, the size of the army wasn’t important; the heart of the army was far more important. He didn’t want people who might be distracted from the real battle by worrying about the cares of everyday life (their home, their vineyard, their fiancée’); nor did He want people who were not really trusting Him. God could do more through a smaller army that was really committed to Him than through a bigger army that was full of compromise. (Guzik)

There is a fear that most experience – It is a “sudden fear” of when something happens. A car accident that is about to happen, waking up to smoke in your home, loud unexpected noise, or being startled by someone or something you didn’t know was there. We are just born with this. Proverbs says, do not be afraid of sudden fear. When sudden fear occurs, recognize it, and do not be afraid. You would apply brakes or swerve in an on-coming accident. You would flee a burning building. You would not try to pick up a venomous snake as it slithers by. You would be cautious, attentive, mindful, and putting things into their right place within your mind. God is there. God is sovereign. God is all-knowing. God is all-powerful. He will never leave or forsake you.

There is another type of fear that should not be in the hearts and minds of those who trust in, rely upon, and cling to Jesus Christ. It is the fear of an unknown outcome of a potential event of something in the near or distant future. How do these fears arise within us? How do they gain even a spec of space within our minds? If you spend any time reading or watching news outlets you will be told what to fear right now and what to fear in the future. They will lay out their narrative in convincing crafty words. Every news and weather outlet broadcast station is supported by income from advertising that pays certain fees depending on the number of viewers. How better to get more viewers than to incite fear? Stay tuned for more breaking news. We will keep an eye on this for you, stay tuned in. This is a developing story, stay tuned. New information has come to light, stay tuned. This could affect every single person, so stay tuned. Scientists confirm, stay tuned. Witnesses have stated, stay tuned. Researchers have just revealed, stay tuned. The more they can generate fear the masses will tune in and hopefully rely on them to make sense of the fear being generated.

In contrast, God’s Word says to “Fear Not”, “Be of this world but not partakers of it”, “Be anxious about nothing”, “Trust in the Lord your God”, “God will never leave you or forsake you”, “I am with you”, “I am your rock and refuge”, “God is all-powerful”, God is ever-present”, God is all-knowing”, “the battle is the Lords”, “nothing can separate you from the Love of God.

The biggest battle we should fear is the battle with, neglect, complacency, lukewarmness, being attracted to things of this world, lust, greed, pride, envy, jealousy, arrogance, hate, anger, self-worth, self-reliance, etc….. Paul said that by the renewing of your mind, studying yourself as a workman who doesn’t need to be afraid, be anxious about nothing, guard your heart, be strong, be steadfast in your commitment, lean not unto your own understanding, be courageous, trust in Jesus Christ, be faithful, be holy, be more than babies in the Word of God and its application in your lives, hold onto what is true, rejoice, praise, be joyful, and love, these things must come to pass but do not be afraid, etc…..

Fear has no place in the heart that trusts in God. We can place all of our concerns at His feet and fully trust in Him to be with us no matter what the concern is. He will never leave you. He is ever-present. He can do all things mighty and powerful is He.

50.k. Wilderness – 14.q. “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is”

Deu 9:1-3  “Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the LORD your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the LORD has promised you.

Nahum 1:6     Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

Matthew 15:10   And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:

Ephesians 5:17    Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

They had come, 38 years before this, nearly to the verge of the promised land, but were not permitted, because of their unbelief and rebellion, at that day or time, to enter; but this time they shall certainly pass over. This was spoken in the eleventh month of the fortieth year of their journeying; and it was on the first month of the following year they passed over, and during this interval Moses died.

God was leading Israel into something too big for them. It was a challenge they could only meet if they trusted in God. The cities they would battle against were mighty and the people they would battle against were great and tall. Yet God had called them to enter into this seemingly impossible battle. There was no way Israel could do this in the flesh, or on their strength. God commanded them to do something that was just beyond their ability to do in themselves. Obviously, God did not inspire Israel with a false sense of confidence or hype. He wanted them to realistically know what the battle ahead would be like. In the same way, Jesus never calls us with hype or false promises that would lead to false confidence. He plainly says, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Matthew 16:24) Jesus let us know right from the beginning that following Him would require giving God everything. (Guzik)

Moses represents the strength of the enemies they were now to encounter. This was to drive them to God, and engage their hope in him. He assures them of victory, by the presence of God with them. He cautions them not to have the least thought of their own righteousness, as if that procured this favour at God’s hand. In Christ we have both righteousness and strength; in Him we must glory, not in ourselves, nor in any sufficiency of our own. It is for the wickedness of these nations that God drives them out. All whom God rejects, are rejected for their own wickedness; but none whom he accepts are accepted for their own righteousness. Thus boasting is for ever done away (Henry)

In our time it is hard to imagine this taking place. And yet, it did. Great fortified cities and fierce warriors occupied the land of promise. God said He was going to be with them and that He would be their strength, power, and might. They had to work but this work was because of His sovereignty and for His purpose. How many times have we gone off and done something that was not by god’s leading, only to fail? How many times have we followed God’s leading, only to take credit for ourselves?

In modern times, Israel became a nation once again almost 2,000 years after the death of Jesus. In 1948 this amazing feat took place. They were back in the promised land. They have been attacked over and over again by those who deny it belongs to them, and yet they are established. They are established because of God’s Sovereignty, purpose, and plans. Those who do not support Israel are in a battle against God. The last battle with mankind’s attempt to do away with Israel and anything to do with God will take place in Israel. You do not have to search very hard to see all of the uprisings and protests against Israel because they defended their country against attacks to know how a great majority feel about Israel. They deny God’s plans and purpose for His chosen people. They deny God’s Word. They reject Jesus Christ. They reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All of this leads to the final days when Jesus returns to once and for all claim those that are His and destroy every last soul that denies His rightful place as King of Kings, Savior, Redeemer, Son of God.

49.c. Wilderness – 13.i. “Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land”

Deu 1:21-28 See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’ Then all of you came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.’ The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, ‘It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.’ “Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the LORD hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’ Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the LORD your God, who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.

As Moses remembered this suggestion, he looked back with regret. There really was no compelling reason to send forth spies into the Promised Land. God had told them that the land was good. Unless they did not believe Him, there was no reason to confirm it on their own. God had told them they would take the land and defeat the nations living there. Unless they did not believe Him, there was no reason to take a look at the enemies and see if God was somehow up to the challenge. Moses must have had regret as he remembered this. The people suggested it and Moses agreed to it. Yet when ten of the twelve spies came back with a report filled with fear and unbelief, the nation believed them and refused to believe God’s promise and enter in. (Guzik)

Moses reminds the Israelites of their march from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, through that great and terrible wilderness. He shows how near they were to a happy settlement in Canaan. It will aggravate the eternal ruin of hypocrites, that they were not far from the kingdom of God. As if it were not enough that they were sure of their God before them, they would send men before them. Never any looked into the Holy Land, but they must own it to be a good land. And was there any cause to distrust this God? An unbelieving heart was at the bottom of all this. All disobedience to God’s laws, and distrust of his power and goodness, flow from disbelief of his word, as all true obedience springs from faith. It is profitable for us to divide our past lives into distinct periods; to give thanks to God for the mercies we have received in each, to confess and seek the forgiveness of all the sins we can remember; and thus to renew our acceptance of God’s salvation, and our surrender of ourselves to his service. Our own plans seldom avail to good purpose; while courage in the exercise of faith, and in the path of duty, enables the believer to follow the Lord fully, to disregard all that opposes, to triumph over all opposition, and to take firm hold upon the promised blessings. (Henry)

Trusting and relying on God in all things leaves no room for doubting His promises, power, goodness, grace, mercy, and sovereignty. There is no room for doubt. When God speaks into your heart hear and obey His leading. It is far better for the soul to trust in our all-powerful God than to live in doubt and fear.

47.a. “Wilderness” – 11.g. “For we are well able to overcome it.”

Num 13:25-33 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

The returning spies both spoke and showed all Israel what they saw in the land. The spies seemed to sense they were more on a mission from Israel than on a mission from God. What God had promised about the land was indeed true. The fruit they brought back – grapes, pomegranates, and figs – showed how fruitful and blessed Canaan was agriculturally. The message from most of the spies was, “The land is as wonderful as God promised, but we can’t conquer it.” It is hard to imagine a report more unbelieving and unfaithful to God than this. This report recognized the faithfulness of God’s promise, the truth of His word, and yet said, “Despite all that, we can’t conquer the land.” If the faith of the spies was tested over this 40-day tour of the land, they failed the test. They didn’t believe God could or would fulfill His promise to give Israel this land, as stated in the covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Caleb commanded the people to immediately (at once) trust God, obey God, and take the land. He understood that in the LORD they were well able to overcome it. But the men who had gone up with him said: Their unbelieving response was a strong combination of truth, lies, and exaggeration. F.B. Meyer compared the perspective of the ten unbelieving spies to that of the two faithful spies, Caleb and Joshua: “They saw the same spectacles in their survey of the land; but the result in the one case was panic, in the other confidence and peace. What made the difference? It lay in this, that the ten spies compared themselves with the giants, whilst the two compared the giants with God.”

Significantly, two groups of men could see the same things – the same grapes, the same Canaanites, the same land, and the same cities. One group (Caleb and Joshua) came away strong in faith, and the other ten spies had a sense of certain doom. Ultimately, faith or unbelief is not rooted in circumstances or environment. Faith is rooted in a heart that trusts God and His promises. (Guzik)

But they distrusted God’s power and promise. How much we stand in our own light by our unbelief! At length the messengers returned; but the greater part discouraged the people from going forward to Canaan. Justly are the Israelites left to this temptation, for putting confidence in the judgment of men, when they had the word of God to trust in. Though they had found the land as good as God had said, yet they would not believe it to be as sure as he had said, but despaired of having it, though Eternal Truth had engaged it to them. All things are possible, if they are promised, to him that believes; but carnal sense and carnal professors are not to be trusted. Unbelief overlooks the promises and power of God, magnifies every danger and difficulty, and fills the heart with discouragement. May the Lord help us to believe! we shall then find all things possible. (Henry)

Can you imagine what our lives would be like if we:

Desired God’s Word
Spent time in His Word
Meditated on God’s Word
Listened to the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit
Intentionally choosing to pursue a life of obedience, trust, and reliance in God
And, trusted in the promises of God over the fears of the present and what is to come

27.g. “I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Jeremiah 20:11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.

Isaiah 45:16   All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.

Jeremiah 1:19   They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.”

Jeremiah 15:20     And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the LORD.

Deuteronomy 32:35-36    Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’  For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.

Psalms 65:5    By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas;

Isaiah 41:10    fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Jeremiah 1:8   Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”

God’s might and awesome power are greater than our pain, humiliation, rejection, fears, loneliness, and worries. When our heart cries out in humble surrender and all self-reliance is thrown by the wayside, God becomes bigger and our misery becomes smaller. Somehow when we do this we are transformed in our heart and become content to leave the matter to God and His awesome power and might and wisdom and strength.

Learning contentment seems easy for some and much harder for others. When I think about this I come to the conclusion it is a matter of the heart. When self-reliance is cast aside and the heart is trusting in God’s perfect loving and awesome strength there is a contentment that passes all human understanding. It is in God’s hands, my Heavenly Father. Not only is He able to handle what I have yielded/placed into His hands, but He will also carry me through all the pain, confusion, rejection, fear, loneliness, and worry. He will deliver me. I am His child. I can fully trust in Him no matter the outcome because He is God.

12.p. “Those who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’ Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished.

Zephaniah 1:11 Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be destroyed. At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’ Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. Though they build houses, they will not live in them; though they plant vineyards, they will not drink the wine.” The great day of the Lord is near— near and coming quickly. The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter; the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry. That day will be a day of wrath— a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness— a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. “I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”

James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

Revelation 18:14 “The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again! The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?”

Have you ever put your trust in what you have? Trusting your job or position and the income from it. Trusting in your health. Trusting in the economy. Trusting in the safety of your home. Trusting in your finances. Trusting in your education. Trusting in your experience. What if we were to change the word from pridefully trusting to humbly thankful. There is a difference isn’t there? One, our reliance is on what we have and what we can do. The other is faith, trust, and reliance on Jesus Christ, His plan and purpose, His best for our life, His supplying everything that we need, His steadfast love, grace, and mercy, His promises and…… The difference is all in the intentional choices we make one way or the other in our hearts, minds, and souls. This difference will manifest itself in one of two ways. If we are self-reliant, when things happen, trials, troubles, and chaos, we will find a deep-rooted fear, confusion, and lack of peace and rest. We will complain rather than rejoice. We will despair rather than have joy and hope. We will have fear rather than peace. We will have confusion rather than clarity. We will believe lies rather than truth. If we cling to, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ the opposite will manifest in our lives. Peace and certain steadfast hope that passes all understanding will flow through our entire being. We will not fear tomorrow but rejoice in the Promises of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ. We will see new blessings each day. We will have peace at night for our hope and trust is in Him alone. He is our refuge, strength, courage, power, fortress, and the reason we have no fear or confusion. There is much going on today in our cities, nations, and the world. Media outlets are vomiting up narratives of fear and danger. People are buying into these lies because they reject the peace that only Jesus Christ can bring. Oh that Jesus would open their eyes and ears once more to see and hear the truth. Oh that He would soften hearts to the Gospel and would flood our cities and nation with an overpowering understanding of the need for salvation, redemption, and forgiveness. Oh that He would use each of us to bring this Good News, live this Good News, and proclaim this Good News. Oh that He would remove all fear, confusion, and anxiety from His children and allow them to walk in strength, courage, and power of the Holy Spirit.