Clear and Present Danger“We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak [giants] there.” (Numbers 13:27-28) In the 1994 movie based on the Tom Clancy novel Clear and Present Danger, Harrison Ford is CIA analyst Jack Ryan who takes on the entire Columbian drug cartel after a friend of the U.S. president is murdered. In the Bible Moses sent 12 spies to check out the Promised Land but 10 came back seeing nothing but giants and a clear and present danger. Long before Tom Cruise, Joshua and Caleb came back with the Minority Report that the land could be taken. (Numbers 14:9) They believed God and challenged the crowd. They somehow knew that if God was not pleased with them they would not enter into the Promised Land. Those who grumbled and complained did not enter the Promised Land. Only Joshua and Caleb and a new generation saw the fulfillment of God’s promise. God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and promised He would lead them into a land of milk and honey. God further reassured them, “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) Moving out of Egypt was difficult and the children of Israel could no longer do things the old way because the old ways didn’t work in the desert. God provided manna for them and guided them with pillars of cloud by day and pillars of fire by night, but eventually they forgot what God had said. Their discomfort changed their belief about God. Whenever God is slow to answer our prayers, what we believe about God is revealed. We get tempted to change our plans and move in a different direction instead of continuing on the path God has directed for us. Four men — Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb — believed what God said and were willing to stand even when the crowd wanted to stone them. If God has called you to live for a cause bigger than yourself like financing, spreading or preaching the gospel of salvation to the lost or just helping others in need, then you will most definitely have opposition. It may even come from those close to you like your friends and family. But if God has called you, then surely He will make a way when there appears to be no way. Wherever God guides, He will also provide. God has already opened the way to blessings and prosperity, but you must walk in faith, obey God’s Word, and confront the danger in order to possess the land.Copyright © 2003 Eddy Ministries. All rights reserved. Subscribe/Unsubscribe: eddyn@earthlink.net
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