“We Have Sinned”

Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!”

And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.

Numbers 14:39-45

We sometimes get “go fever” – the tendency to ignore vital precautions in the rush to a grand goal. It happened with the space shuttle Challenger, on its last launch into space. It had been grounded five times previous. We know the result. It crashed, because of an oil ring.

In life we make many of the same time of ill-advised choices. Our ambitious human nature relentlessly tempts us to make bad choices. Yet we are also prone to a fear that can make us overly cautious. The ancient Israelites demonstrated both traits.

When we take our eyes off the Lord, we’ll slide into one of two extremes. We either get “go fever” or we get cautious and do nothing. We sometimes rush ahead without Him, or we’ll cower and complain in fear. Focusing on Him brings courage tempered with His wisdom.

A moment of patience can prevent a great disaster.

Our Daily Bread – February 25, 2016