And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!” Number 14: 11-12
It is said that not all moments in life are the same, while some moments are ordinary, others are defining. Defining moments can set the tone of one’s life for the next decade and should therefore not be taken lightly. Someone who runs outside their lane while practicing for the Olympics will be corrected and cautioned. But if the same mistake happens at the Olympics, that person might be disqualified and made to wait for the next four years to compete again. It’s the same mistake, different moments, different consequences. It is therefore important to discern when you’ve stepped into defining moments.
While the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness, they had many moments. Moments where they murmured and complained, moments where they wanted to go back, moments when they did not believe in God. Right after crossing the Red Sea and singing praises, it did not take them long to begin to doubt God and complain. While all these happened, the Lord never really got angry at them. God through Moses always met their needs and continued to lead them. But a defining moment came for the Israelites, it was the moment right after their journey through the wilderness when they got to the border of the promised land.
At that border, God instructed Moses to send 12 spices to spy out the promised land and bring back a report. While two spies gave a good report, the other ten brought back a bad report. The people believed the negative report, that there were giants in the land; they were grasshoppers compared to them. The demonstration of that unbelief in God was seen in their weeping, complaining, and decision to return to Egypt. The Israelites did not believe God would conquer the giants and give them the land. They said God was bringing them into the promised land to have them die in battle. Because this was a defining moment, their complaining, crying and clear display of unbelief in God cost them their promise. They missed out on that which God had prepared for them. They had to spend the next 40 years wandering in the wilderness because of a wrong response in a defining moment.
It was not the first time they complained, it was not the first time they doubted God, but when it came to their defining moments, it cost the very promise they had left Egypt for. They never received the promise, but instead died as wanderers in the desert because of unbelief at a defining moment.
I believe many are coming into defining moments in the next couple of days or weeks and we must learn from the Israelites so we do not miss out on moments. Here are some key points to note.
Giants indicate transition: Giants are external situations that humanly speaking will defeat you. Giants are difficulties that can intimidate and make you feel powerless. But the giants also indicate that you have ended the journey through the wilderness and are on the verge of possessing their promised land. Facing a giant is a defining moment in life.
God’s power in you conquers the giants: God never intended for Israel to kill the giants in their strength, He was going to empower them to overcome the giants. It was His power that would have brought the victory, not theirs. But they only saw from a human perspective and never factored in the God they had. When you come before your giants you must remember it is God’s power that will bring down your giants, not yours. Trust Him and engage as instructed. His power will flow through you as you rise to face the giants.
Unbelief will abort a new season, Fight unbelief at defining moments: Israel missed out on God because of unbelief at a defining moment. This teaches us that when we come to defying moments with giants, we must fight unbelief so we do not miss out on what God has for us. One powerful way to fight unbelief is through a fast. If you sense you are coming to a defining moment in life, take some time to fast and pray, feed on the word, and eliminate unbelief so you do not abort your harvest.
Your Praise is a weapon: Israel’s response in unbelief was to weep, complain, and attempt to go back. Joshua and Caleb’s response in faith was “Let us go up and take the land for God is with us”. Faith and unbelief are both expressed through actions. While weeping and complaining expressed Israel’s unbelief, a decision to fight and take the land demonstrated Joshua and Caleb’s faith. Like Joshua and Caleb, once our faith is in place, our next action will be to go up against the giant. Because the nature of our warfare is quite different, one way we get to go up against our giants is through praise. Praise becomes a weapon of war, allowing God to step in and give us victory.
Eliminate unbelief and then go against your giants with praise. As you do this, you will invite the Almighty to step in and destroy every giant. He will show up as the God of your salvation, removing every obstacle and bringing every promise to pass in your life. The time is now, fast, praise and secure your victory for you are right at the edge.
