As Christians and followers of Jesus Christ, how we view the world and our surroundings matters. How we view God and His ability to help us matters. Through the very lens we perceive life will determine if we find and fulfill our God-given destinies and help others do the same. That’s why it’s so important to spend time with God and gain a heavenly perspective instead of looking simply from a carnal, finite stand point. The Bible says, “Now the mind of the flesh, which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit, is death – death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter. But the mind of the Holy Spirit is life and soul peace both now and forever” Romans 8:6 AMPC. When we allow the Holy Spirt to direct our lives, we will have peace and we will be filled with faith and trust in God. But when we allow our carnal reasoning and flesh to rule our lives and govern our thoughts, we will be led down a path that damages ourselves and others.
The Bible states, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” Romans 10:17 NIV. If we are going to be filled with faith and the right perspective, then we need to spend time with God regularly. He will help us through His Holy Spirit, which lives inside of us as Believers, to see from His vantage point. Our hearts and minds will be filled with faith to trust and believe God for the dreams and desires He has places in us. Yet, if we don’t spend time with God and others who are full of faith, then doubt and unbelief can start to creep in. We begin to question the goodness of God and His plan for our lives. We can be tempted to believe that the challenges we are facing are because God is punishing us, instead of growing us.
Who are you hanging out with? Are your friends compelling you to trust God and His Word? Are they blowing wind in your sails and putting wings on the dreams God put inside of you? If not, question whether you should have them in your inner circle of influence. Who you hang out with and who you allow to speak into your life matters. It matters a lot!!
God promised He would give the Israelites the land He swore to give to their forefather, Abraham, and his descendants (Genesis 13:15) and through mighty acts of power, God delivered the Israelites from the oppression of the Egyptians after 430 years of slavery to fulfill that promise He made to them. There was a great celebration at what God had done because He delivered them from the most powerful nation on earth at that time and He was leading them into their destinies. God guided them through the wilderness and eventually brought them to the edge of the Promise Land where God commanded Moses to send in 12 leaders, one from each tribe, to scout out the land and bring back a report on their findings.
This is what happened: Ten of those spies came back with a fear-filled report.
“ We came to the land to which you sent us; surely it flows with milk and honey. This is its fruit. But the people who dwell there are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; moreover, there we saw the sons of Anak [of great stature and courage]… We are not able to go up against the people of Canaan, for they are stronger than we are. So they brought the Israelites an evil report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, The land through which we went to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the Nephilim or giants, the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” Numbers 13:27-33 AMPC.
The 10 spies could only see through a lens of fear. They failed to REMEMBER that God had just delivered them from the Egyptians a short while before with His powerful hand and mighty outstretched arm. He continued to take care of them proving He was with them and providing for their needs every step of the way like a loving Heavenly Father. Yet they VIEWED themselves as grasshoppers compared to their enemies. What’s even more tragic is the fact that these 10 leaders convinced an entire generation to not fulfill their destiny because of fear. Fear is contagious. It will get inside you and on you and keep you from experiencing God’s best and it will spread like wild fire to others.
“And ALL the congregation cried out with a loud voice, and they wept that night. All the Israelites grumbled and deplored their situation, accusing Moses and Aaron, to whom the whole congregation said, ‘Would that we had died in Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness! Why does the Lord bring us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and little ones will be a prey. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?’ And they said one to another, Let us choose a captain and return to Egypt” Numbers 14:1-4.
The Israelites perspective was skewed. They were not seeing clearly because of fear and unbelief. God wasn’t taking them into the Promise Land to die by the sword. He was taking them there to be overcomers, to prosper and cause them to flourish.
Only Joshua and Caleb, who saw through eyes of faith and trust in God, were able to enter the Promise Land from that generation:
“And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among the scouts who had searched the land, rent their clothes, and they said to all the company of Israelites, The land through which we passed as scouts is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, neither fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their defense and the shadow [of protection] is removed from over them, but the Lord is with us. Fear them not” Numbers 14:6-9 AMPC
Joshua and Caleb were trying to encourage God’s people to see from the correct perspective. But the people weren’t having it.
Is your life compelling others to a life of faith and trust in God or one of fear and unbelief? Are you living a life that inspires others to go after God, believe His promises and compel them to trust Him for the dreams and desires He has put in them? Or are you discouraging them from stepping out? It matters.
Today, regardless if you have been a person that has projected fear and unbelief onto others or not, the good news is, you don’t have to stay that way. You can change directions. You might ask, how? By spending time with God and asking Him to help you see from His vantage point and be led by His Spirit. He will show you how to view your circumstances accurately and discern the right course of action, so you can take steps toward your divine destiny and fulfill the best life God has for you.
That’s what happened for King David when he was still a shepherd boy tending his father’s sheep. One day his father asked him to go check on his three older brothers who were serving in the Israelite army to see how they were faring. The Israelites were going to battle against their enemy, the Philistines. When David arrived at the frontlines of the battle, he overheard Israelite soldiers talking about how King Saul would give a great reward to anyone who would go up against and defeat the legendary warrior, Goliath. Day after day Goliath would come out and taunt God’s people and great fear gripped the entire Israelite army, including King Saul himself. There was no faith and courage in the camp. That was until David showed up!
“’Don’t worry about this Philistine,’ David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. ‘When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine’” I Samuel 17:32-37 NLT.
David, with great courage and trust in God, went out and faced Goliath with a slingshot and 5 stones. No armor. No sword. No shield. Just his confidence in what God would do on his behalf because he walked with God and saw things from God’s perspective. David faced Goliath, struck him down with a stone and ran up to him and cut off his head. That act of courage infused faith and belief in the entire Israelite army. Courage returned to these warriors and they defeated the Philistines that day. It was a great victory!
What’s interesting about this story is the fact that faith and courage are contagious too. David faced a giant in the midst of great fear in the camp. He saw things from a different lens. He saw what God was capable of doing and knew that God would be with him.
The same is true for you and me today. Faith and courage are contagious. It’s not the fact that we won’t ever “feel” fear or doubt or unbelief. It’s knowing what to do with those feelings when they do come. You cast them down and listen to another report – the report of the Lord. When God puts a promise inside your heart, the key is to spend time with Him and others that are friends to your destiny. God will infuse faith and courage inside you to step out and accomplish all that He has asked of you. And when you begin to step into your calling and purpose, you will have others behind you following in your footsteps because you are living a life worth modeling. Dare to believe God. Dare to step into your purpose. Have courage. Have faith. God is with you and He won’t fail you. Be a person that will put wings on other people’s God-given dreams. Be a person that will inspire the next generation so that they can fulfill their Promise Land. Have you found yourself off course a little bit? God understands where you are at. Get back in the game and ask God for His help. He is ever present and willing to direct and assist you! And He is full of mercy. So what are you waiting for?!
We are all contagious with something. The key is, what are you giving people? Are you contagious with faith or fear? The choice is yours.
Questions to think about:
- What are you contagious with – Faith or Fear?
- If your life tends to be filled with fear, how can you take steps to trust God?
- How can you be a person that encourages others to walk by faith, not out of a place of fear?
- What is a next step God is asking you to take in your own life?
- Do you feel fear trying to rise up inside you? If so, what can you do to overcome its grip on you?
- How can you make a decision to step out and trust God despite fear?
- As you take steps of faith in your own walk with God, how can that decision inspire others to follow your lead like Joshua, Caleb and David?
