Missed Opportunities

Numbers 14:40-45, ‘Early the next morning they went up towards the high hill country. “We have sinned,” they said. “We will go up to the place the LORD promised.” But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the LORD’s command? This will not succeed! Do not go up because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, He will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.” Nevertheless in their presumption they went up towards the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD’s covenant moved from the camp. Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.’ In Ecclesiastes, God reminds us that there is a right time for everything. We need to pray for God to give us an understanding and hearing heart so that we may hear His voice when He gives us direction. We need to pray for patience to be able to wait on Him when time is not right and strength and conviction to act without delay when time is right. Fear is a great enemy to taking up of opportunities and the Israelites, when they were at the brink of the promised land allowed fear to paralyze them into inaction. They focused on their circumstances instead of on their God. This is the same God who had led them from the clutches of Egypt laden with gold and wealth, feed them and performed wondrous signs among them but when He told them that He was giving the land that He had promised to their ancestors to them, they doubted His faithfulness in delivering His promise. The cost of delay is very high. For the Israelites it was forty years. They had to wait for forty years to receive the promises of God because of their doubt and fear. Had they only focused on God, on His faithfulness, on His might and power, they would have entered the promised land forty years earlier but they missed this opportunity and had to wait. Most of us when we realize our mistake, we try to take action even when the opportunity has passed to disastrous results as the Israelites realized when they decided to go even after they were warned, and they were routed by their enemies for God was not with them. All these opportunities are God created and God given and we need to take them up when He tells us to otherwise we will not succeed in what we do. In Proverbs 16:3, we are reminded to commit all we do to God and our plans will succeed. Again pray for a listening and understanding heart so that you can hear that still small voice and allow Him to guide you.