Bill Johnson - Impressive Problems Versus Impressive Promises
Anytime I become impressed with the size of a challenge, I have lost sight of the size of the promise that weighs over my life. I want you to look at three very strange verses with me: Numbers 14, Matthew 6, and Psalms 23. All right, they may seem random, but hopefully, you’ll see that they complement each other. Numbers 14 is particularly interesting; this is a fascinating subject. I know I’ve heard Chris and maybe some others touch on this a little in recent months: the Lord rewards maturity with an increase of responsibility.
The Promised Land was not just sitting on a beach sipping lemonade for the rest of their life; the Promised Land was a place where they actually had to work. We were actually designed to work; in fact, the very thing happening in our country right now, where people don’t want to work, is actually working against divine purpose, actually working against design. It’s like using a crescent wrench as a hammer—it’ll work, but it just wasn’t designed for that. Now, if you’re unable to work for whatever reason, much blessing and grace to you; I believe we’re supposed to care for people who can’t. But the point is, we’ve got a spirit that’s been loosed in the nation today, where people are looking for opportunities not to work, when actually the fulfillment of our design is found in work. All right, I feel better about that too; that one’s free as well.
That’s all right. Let’s get back here. My assignment today is to just meddle and cause problems. I’m looking for every opportunity. So Israel was given a Promised Land, and your future is defined by promises. The measure in which we say «yes» to the promises of God is the measure in which we step into the fullness of our design. The promises of God guarantee a fight between the promise and fulfillment. Now, let’s backtrack; Israel, under Moses’s leadership, was looking at the Promised Land. They knew there was a vast inheritance for them, so he took 12 spies and sent them into the land to spy it out and bring back a report of what they were about to step into. They came back, and 10 of them said, «There are giants in the land; we are like grasshoppers in their sight; we can never win this battle.» Two of them, Joshua and Caleb, came back and said, «This is a done deal; this is a setup by God for our victory.» They returned with great courage, but the ten persuaded the crowd to move in fear.
Now, nobody in the crowd said, «I choose fear»; they all said, «Let’s choose wisdom,» because fear masquerades as wisdom. The ten spies did not come back with lies; they came back with truth—just not the whole truth. They came back convincing people of something inferior to what God has said. What God has declared over your life is what we must feed our hearts on. If we feed our hearts on just the facts, we will react in fear and never recognize it as fear. We will consider ourselves to be people who move in great wisdom, but I’ll tell you this: if you move in fear and live cautiously, your friends will call you wise; you just won’t move many mountains. It takes courage to confront and face what God has put in front of us.
Here’s some of the dialogue from Joshua and Caleb, as they literally prophesy. They bring the word of the Lord to a nation, urging them not to rebel against the Lord by failing to enter a promise. Let that phrase run through your mind for a minute: to not rebel against the Lord by failing to enter a promise. All right, verse 9: «Only do not rebel against the Lord.» I just heard that recently. «Do not rebel against the Lord nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.» Your giant looks different when you believe a promise. Look at it again: «Do not rebel against the Lord nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread.»
Go to Matthew 6, verse 11: «Give us this day our daily bread.» You say, «Well, that’s torn out of context.» Okay, Psalms 23: «You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.» There are certain spiritual nutrients that you cannot get apart from defeating a giant. The meal you are hungry for is in the triumph over the giant you are facing. God has given every one of us an appetite to be strong spiritually, but we want strength for the battle, and He’s saying, «My strength comes from the battle.» They are bread. We’re not talking about a mental game where we imagine there is no enemy. I love the honesty of Joshua and Caleb, where they openly discuss the giants; they’re just not impressed by them. I have found that any time I am impressed with the size of my problem, it’s because I’ve lost sight of the size of my God. I know that sounds cute, but it’s a reality.
Anytime I become impressed with the size of a challenge, I have lost sight of the size of the promise that weighs over my life. There’s also a huge part of our Christian life that He absolutely does for us; He causes this victory to happen. I didn’t do anything; all I did was show up, and He just caused it to happen. He defended me here; He promoted me there; He did it. I get that. But there are parts of our Christian walk where the nutrients we ache for are actually found in the giants we are facing. It’s changing our perspective, not through mental gymnastics, but in accordance with what God says. What did God say? Joshua and Caleb picked something up from the Lord: this land of giants is lunch, and when we’re through with lunch, we’ll move on to dinner. That is our food.