Submitted
by Sam Nobles
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh
and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh
and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men
and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their
secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But
Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. (Exodus 7:10-12 ESV)
I
like this, don’t you? Aaron’s staff became a bigger snake than the others, and
the magicians’ snakes were gobbled up. As believers, we are not free from the
attack of the enemy, but we are immune to any lasting effect. The snakes of
circumstance can show up and strike at any time, but like the story above, no
matter how many snakes the enemy produced, Aaron’s rod ate them up.
The Heart of Caleb
Joshua
and Caleb were among a group of twelve who spied out the Land of Promise. “The
land is a glorious place,” said the 10 spies, “but there are giants in the land
and we’re like grasshoppers in their sight.”
Caleb and Joshua knew that God was with them and countered the other
spies by saying, “these guys will be bread for us” (Numbers 14:9). The people of Israel listened to the ten instead of
the two and it ended up costing them forty – forty years of wandering in the
desert.
After
their entire generation died, Joshua and Caleb were allowed to enter the Land
of Promise. When they arrived, an 85 year old Caleb asked Joshua to give him
the land where the giants lived (Joshua
14:12). Why would Caleb make such a request? He did so because he knew
something about those giants. Caleb knew God wanted to give him that land.
Those giants were bread, and he was hungry.
I
pray that God would give us a heart like Caleb, to take on the challenges which
challenge others. I pray that we can be the type of Christians who say, “Give
me the giants and pass the butter.” Don’t run away from your challenges or
difficult obstacles because in them you’ll have the opportunity to see the
power of God gobble up the snakes of adverse circumstance.
Scripture to Claim:
Only do not rebel against the
LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their
protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear
them." (Numbers 14:9 ESV)
