Are We Ready Yet to Receive from the Lord?

This week I thought that it would be good if I picked up from the previous post "Keeping the Charge of the Lord" and focus on the importance of being ready to receive from the Lord. In the post I mentioned that the Israelites could not make any decision to move or settle, without God. It was now the second year since they came out of Egypt. The entire period they spent moving around and living in the wilderness; still holding on to the promise that the Lord would give them a land flowing with milk and honey. The time had finally come. 

The Lord told Moses to send out 12 of the strongest men from each tribe, who would spy out on the land of Canaan, the promised land. 40 days the men spent spying on the land, the state it was in and the people that lived there. After forty days they brought back the report to Moses and the people of Israel; that the land indeed was good, but the people were like giants and the cities were fortified. Only two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua were positive and believed that despite the built of the men, they could overpower them because the Lord was on the Israelites' side. The other ten spies were discouraged and told the people that it was impossible for them to win against the men living in Canaan.

The Israelites complained and believed the bad report. They could not understand why they had come all this way only to be destroyed, so they said. After miraculously crossing the red sea, experiencing the wrath of the Lord, eating of manna and quails in the wilderness; after all the wonders and signs of the Lord, they still didn't get it. They gave in to fear and refused to go into the Land, opting to go back to Egypt. So much time spent complaining and overlooking what they had, that they were not yet ready to cease the promised land. They did not know God or understand His character. Furthermore, they did not understand their place with Him; that is their identity with God as His people.

Their focus was never on God, but on acquiring a better life; an "out of the world" promise that they still did not believe. Due to their unbelief, they would have to spend 40 more years in the wilderness. This case brought to attention, that sometimes because we removed our focus from God, we might not be ready to receive what He has in store for us. It brings to question, even as we are waiting on the Lord, where is our focus? Are we so focused on what we want that we forget about Him? Do we believe that He can and He is able, that nothing is impossible for Him? Do we believe that He is still on our side? Do we know our place or our identity in Him? Do we believe His promises? Do we believe that we are worth it? Who is God? 

It is important that as we wait, we should also get ready to receive from God. We do this through constant prayer and reading the Word. This way we know Him more and understand our place with Him. Our focus should always remain on Him and not on what is around us. We also get ready by being thankful for everything He has already given us, something that the Israelites had not yet learnt to do. It's "funny" that when they considered going back to Egypt, it's almost like they had forgotten God was in the picture, they never considered Him.

 "Way Maker" by Monique