10/12 - Num 14:41-43 - Where Should You Never Go?

⁴¹ Moses said,

“Why do you continue to

transgress the command of the Lord?

That will not succeed. ⁴² Do not go up

⁴⁰ to the place that the Lord has promised …

⁴³ The Lord will not be with you …

and you shall fall by the sword.”

Numbers 14

 

“I can’t go there.” Have you ever heard anybody say that?

 

Have you ever said it yourself?

 

One of the huge steps toward freedom is not going where you know you shouldn’t go. (Indeed, sometimes God says, “do not go up,” “do not enter.”)

 

Let me give you a simple example – food addiction. (My own!) I know that when it comes to food, I often have the willpower the size of a gnat. I tell people that I’m on a seafood diet: If I see food, I eat it. If I cheat once – even one simple nibble – it’s all over for the whole day. I won’t stop. I’m compulsive.

 

But what if that’s our addiction with something more lethal – alcohol, for example. “I can’t go there,” we need to cry. “Do not enter.” Stop! Turn! Run!

 

Today’s devotion is simple. Israel didn’t trust the Lord’s leading. “Beware,” cried Moses, putting down a “do not enter” sign. “[If you go there,] the Lord will not be with you.” And yet, they kept going where God didn’t ordain. And they kept reaping the consequences.

 

That was true for Israel, and it’s true for us. If you go where God does not ordain, “that will not succeed.” – indeed, “you [may] fall by the sword” (whatever your version of the sword is in terms of describing your pain, remorse, and destruction).

 

Now, in your life, you know the places that you can’t go, don’t you? Well … don’t do it. Do not enter!

 

·         Do you need to not go certain places?

·         Do you need to not hang around with certain people?

·         Do you need to not watch certain things?

·         Do you need to go to be when your wife does, so that you won’t be tempted to turn those tempting images on?

·         Do you need to not let yourself get too hungry, too angry, too lonely, too tired?

·         Do you need to not take the first bite – or first sip – of certain things?

·         And how about this one: Do you need an accountability partner – someone you can call in a time of temptation who will say, “do not enter”?

 

You have a measure of strength and discipline in stopping this. But do you trust that God has the rest? Do your part – “do not enter” – and trust God to do his part.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who just started a diet

(a big Do Not Enter sign

is on the pantry door)