Numbers 13:1-3, 17-33 page 1

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This morning I described how the different adversities that Debbie and I have faced since moving here last August have led us to ask, 'Where is God?' Debbie's serious ear infection, and then the back and knee trouble she has had since the New Year; her father's heart failure and low blood pressure; the damage done to my car a week and a half ago by a speeding drink-driver; and some other things that are too private to share publicly.

There was one point where we said, 'Let's try to list the good things about moving here'. We found two: that it was a nice area to live in, and that Rebekah was happy at pre-school. You may think we were being unfair and it's possible we were, but that's how we felt at the time.

And so this morning we used Isaiah 40:21-31 to explore the question, 'Where is God when I feel forgotten?'. We concluded that he does care and he is able to help, but sometimes he calls us to more persistent prayer and that he is graciously at work in the period while we wait for him to show his hand.

This evening, I want to ask the 'Where is God?' question slightly differently. Tonight, I want to ask, 'Where is God in times of opposition and adversity?'

In our reading, the Israelites are on the verge of the Promised Land. It isn't far away. Moses sends men to spy out Canaan. But most of them bring back a fearful report and had we read on into chapter 14 we would have heard the result: mutiny among the people of God. The size and strength of the land's inhabitants turn their legs to jelly.

I wonder whether that experience resonates with us. Do we feel small in the face of what life throws at us? Do we feel overwhelmed? Would we rather retrace our steps back to a safer place? Do we feel like we are wobbling on the edge of a cliff and about to fall?

So I find myself asking this question of the Israelites on the verge of Canaan: where did they go wrong?

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Copyright © David D Faulkner, 2006 except where other sources are attributed or noted as inspiration.