Will We Fly Solo?

Flying solo into the clouds of trouble and pestilence, is not such a good idea, for it can lead to bad behavior patterns, causing us to retreat into defeat (Joshua 7:1-5). Like the Israelites, we may spin out of control and into literal despair (Numbers 14:1-4).

Note that when the majority of the spies brought a report of intimidating giants and dangers ahead, they used the pronoun "we" no less than seven times, with no reference to the Lord at all (Numbers 13:31-33).

Without the Lord, they were flying solo.

The Israelites were very close to receiving the ultimate blessing that God promised to them (Numbers 13:1-2). They were eyewitnesses to the miracles in Egypt and their feet had walked the dry bottom of the Red Sea in great victory (Exodus 14:13-31).

God's faithfulness had been amazingly evident. What short memories His people had! What disappointing faithlessness! Sadly, they turned their backs on God, left the blessing behind, and incurred God's wrath (Numbers 14:11-45).

In contrast, Joshua and Caleb opted to turn to the Lord with this confidence:

"..... the Lord is with us, Do not fear them" (Numbers 14:9).

After consideration of the above thoughts, the question now becomes, "When our troubles show up (and they eventually will - see here), will "we" fly solo?"

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets