Parashat Shelach Lekha 2022

Numb 13:1-15:41

In Parashat Selach Lekha the children of Israel were sent by God to check out the land of Canaan. God knew the condition of their hearts and understood that Israel would make a free will choice to believe him or cower away. God preferanced the sending of the spies with stating, “ Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel” (Numb 13:2). Moses mentioned each spy stating their name, father’s name, and tribe. Each represented a community of faith that was to be committed to following the will of God. When the spies returned however, they acknowledged that the promised land was everything God said it was, but ten of the twelve spies brought a bad report. They discouraged the people to the point of setting many into a panic so that a rebellion began to occur.

God calls us into his work and every part has risk as we venture into the unknown and trust God in faith. When God gives us a purpose, feelings of fear and failure can be the unfortunate collateral damage that afflicts us. Our first imperative is to be able to respond to the calling of God with repentant, devoted, clean hearts, and spiritual eyes. If our hearts are not repentant, our eyes will see things through a carnal filter and the will of God will seem impossible.

Pursuing the will of God cannot be done with the wrong motive and nothing born of God will be birthed in unrighteousness. Repentance, forgiveness, and waiting (so that we can seek God in all things) are disciplines that build godly strength and faith. Strong faith comes from being invested (reading, hearing, and doing) in the Word of God and dedicating our lives to manifest his will. Several times Israel looked at the requirement of God many decided that Egypt was the better choice. In Egypt they did not have many requirements. They did not have to make many choices or be responsible for anything but their work.

Sometimes we look at the promise and purpose of God and weigh it against our personal expense in terms of ability, substance, and reputation. We often choose to maintain our fear and immobility in opposed to risking failure and any chance that we will be confirmed as incapable. When we do this we constantly live a life of minimal, shallow faith. It is not that we are not investing somewhere, it’s just that we are afraid to take larger steps because the faith we do have is stagnate.

Fear keeps us away from the will of God. We tend to value our security over many things. Fear can hinder us from those seasons where God is redefining us, remantling us, repurposing us, or remaking us. Faith is dynamic. It changes us because it is consistently challenged. It was designed to be something that was to move and respond to the call of God, not our weaknesses.

Yeshua stated to his disciples,” launch out into the deep” (Luke 5:4). God does call us to fish in reserved places that are not convenient to most. These places seem a bit wild. Storms can happen. Unpredictability and change are the norm and dependency on God is essential. Leaving an area where your faith has been comfortable is challenging because it requires new skills, new expressions of ministry, and above all trust.

Beware perfectionism. We cannot pursue the will of God while making an idol out of our perfectionism. When we do this we wear a mask that we must maintain. Masks are emotionally and spiritually expensive. When we wear a mask, we tend to hide more than we minister and live in a constant fear of being rejected, exposed as imperfect frauds, or being humiliated. Perfectionism and fear demands so much, so many guarantees, so many perfect outcomes, that the idea of faith is hardly visible and people get paralyzed by thinking THEY are never enough (Numb 13:28-29).

Many in scripture were imperfect and made mistakes. Some of them made huge mistakes. I read three posts this week that called to mind the human imperfections our biblical fathers and mothers displayed. The scripture does not seek to hide those imperfections and moments of weakness for a good reason. Eve followed the wrong voice and made shallow choices. Noah was found drunk and naked. Abraham gave away his own wife to protect himself. Sarah was impatient and laughed at God’s promise. Jacob was a cheater. Jonah ran away from God. Moses had a speech impediment and tried to disqualify himself. Miriam was a gossiper and rebellious. Rahab was a prostitute. Sampson was arrogant and broke his vows to God. David was a womanizer and had an affair. Elijah suffered with depression and discouragement. Peter denied Yeshua and gave up. Thomas was a doubter. Paul was a murderer and persecutor. The will of God moved through real people living real lives. They made bad decisions and real mistakes. Still, our understanding of scripture, how God moves, who God is, and what is possible with God is defined by these same inspiring people. So, when God sends you out to do his perfect will with an imperfect life, remember that you are in good company. Walk in repentance and hold on to God and his word with all your might. The walk of faith can be a wild ride.

Rav Calev Apostolic Messianic International-Gulf Coast Parler, Locals, Rumble, Facebook (picture by James Tissot)