Are you Promise Ready?

It's 10:00pm, and I was preparing to pack up and go home.

Leaving the office extremely late and remembered that its “Waiting Space Wednesday” and I prayed for this portion, I have dreams for this portion, I believe in this portion and want to be consistent and committed to my portion.

So here I am.

I created a youtube video which I’ll post probably tomorrow and in the midst of teaching on that topic the Holy Spirit took me in another direction.

I don’t know about you, but one thing I personally enjoy about the Word is that it is a living word and speaks to you and your life differently in each season.

Numbers 13:25-33 talks about the “Scouting Report” where basically, Moses, who is leading the children of Isreal of out Egypt has asked the leaders of  each tribe to go into the “Promise Land” and explore it. After exploring it, bring back a report for the community.

“After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community that what they had SEEN and SHOWED them the fruit they had taken from the land. This was their report to Moses. “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. BUT the people living there are powerful, their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! The Amalekites in the Negev, and the Hitities, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites lives along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley. “But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Lets go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites. “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

Here’s the issue, the children of Israel are good and tired. They are literally on the EDGE of THE PROMISE LAND! Close enough that the leaders were sent in to explore the land, before the actual community was to enter. (I mean seriously, that’s pretty close if you ask me.. it’s kind of one of those, “wait here… I’ll go and see if someone’s coming close”.) Which if you think about it, after journeying such a long way, something in you should have settled that the land you were heading to has your name on it REGARDLESS! The children of Israel journeyed for so long and had experienced so much that something in them should have had a resolve that, come hell or high waters…they are taking what’s there.

However, that wasn’t the case.

The leaders went in, and of all of the leaders only 1 came back in a posture of, “Lets go in and conquer.” The rest of the leaders brought back an accurate report of the land and its fruit, however, they MAGNIFIED the problems attached to the promise! The spent little to NO TIME talking about the promise keeper!

Follow me for a moment. I promise this is going somewhere.

What tickled me when I read this about 3 times was this line,

“We entered the land you sent us to explore and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces” (and begins to show the community the grapes they brought back)

Now I know, based on the way the last line was written, one of the leaders was showing Moses, Aaron and the community the literal fruit…but then it dawned upon me.

What makes us believe that we can enter a land producing such great fruit, if and when we aren’t producing the same things in our lives.

Who do we think we are to think we can enter a land, a promise from the Lord himself, unequipped, unprepared, postured incorrectly, ungrateful, little to no faith and no resolve within us?

We would do more damage than good to the very promise land we desire to claim.

The word of God shows us that the leaders came back to the community to report what they had SEEN AND WAS SHOWN! However, they still were AFRAID!! This behavior shouldn’t shock us one bit, because this was their behavior the entire time they journeyed through the wilderness!

God would SHOW THEM how able He is, how much of a strong tower He is, how He is about order and means what He says, is a promise keeper, a provider and protector---they would SEE these things, and STILL be afraid. The very next minute after His great works they would shift back to the mentality before hand.

The children of Israel hadn’t developed nor were they baring ANY fruit! Yet, was ready to enter a land where fruit and everything about it was overflowing.  How would you treat such a place you have no reverence for?

So my question for you today is simple, “Are you prepared for your promise? “

I know you “want” the things attached to your promise, but are YOU prepared in every way for your promise or are you tip toeing or rushing into it hap-hazard?  Can God trust you with the promise attached to your life?

Can he trust you with the bountiful, overflowing with milk and honey? Or will you be lousy with it. Will you not surrender it all to Him? Will you not trust him with it?

Ya’ll we got work to do! (Points to self!)

XoXoXoxoX,

Alicia Elizabeth