Scouts Out
The Promised Land Awaits....
An instructor of mine once advised, “Give specific questions to your reconnaissance elements. Don’t simply ask ‘what’s out there?’ Don’t ask how many bridges cross the river, but rather how many bridges are there that facilitate crossing our tanks? Don’t simply ask how many troops, but ask what kind of troops?”
Moses in Numbers 13 asks a perfect set of specific questions. “Are the people strong or weak, are the cities walled?” These are the types of questions Moses wanted answered. He did not ask the “spies” (recon team) to opine on whether the land was conquerable. This is not a thing Moses needed to know. After the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the pillar of fire by night, and many more major miracles, Moses knew God would give them the land. He said He would.
The scouts returned with a report of a land “flowing with milk and honey.” So far, so good.
BUT
The people of the land were many and great. They made the spies feel like grasshoppers. Then came the sin which killed them and kept their generation out of the Promised Land.
“We can’t do this. It’s too much.”
One cowardly leader can bring down a host. Only Caleb and Joshua understood the land lay open for conquest and occupation. They alone out of that generation lived to see the Promised Land.
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The faithless scouts may have relayed accurate information, but God was not interested in their opinion regarding the likelihood of success. The entire journey out of Egypt led to a land promised to the Israelites. The purpose of their liberation, and journey, was to enter this rich and fecund region. It makes me wonder what they thought the trip was about. Why did they receive the Law at Mount Sinai, if it were not to coalesce into a nation?
When God calls us to action, as individuals or as organizations, He is not asking if we think obedience to Him has a chance of success. Our process of accomplishing God’s specific mission will, and should, include many questions and lead to research and planning.
Once we are certain God has called us to a task, then a flood of queries will follow. What is the biblical approach to the mission? Where do we find the resources? Who is best to lead the different supporting tasks leading to mission accomplishment? How will we know if we are succeeding? At what point do we conduct an “azimuth check” and see if we are still on target?
This applies to decisions we make for our families as much as to our churches.
The one question we must never ask is “Will God let us fail?” God is not interested in this question, and we should not be either. Indeed, failure is possible, but not if we are centered in God’s will and focused on His Word.
“He is not asking if we think obedience to Him has a chance of success.”
We must first be certain what we are doing is truly what God has called us to do. Once we are certain of this, Scripture, the Holy Spirit and a little common sense will lead us in the right direction.
Many endeavors fail due to a lack of proper reconnaissance. We will need to know certain things about our operational environment and ourselves. What demographic is our program trying to reach? How can we best relate to them? Is our approach biblical? Everything we do will have a different set of questions. Is this article useful? Will you like and subscribe? As with Moses’ questions for the spies, every query is a “request for information,” something that we must answer.
Our success will depend on how we ask and answer the right questions and put a plan into action. Having done our reconnaissance, the one question we must never ask is, “will God let us fail?
The Promised Land awaits….