Fear or Faith?

Today, in my devotions, I was reading in the book of Numbers about the twelve scouts from the tribes of Israel sent to explore the promised land. Of the twelve, only two gave a report filled with faith, while the others told tales that filled the people's hearts with fear.

Caleb and Joshua told Moses that that land was good and that the Israelites, with God's help could take it from it's inhabitants. The other 10 scouts, agreed that the land was good, but stated that the inhabitants of the land were too big, too strong and their cities were too fortified. The people were quick to believe the report of the 10 over the report of the two.

True to form, as soon as the people were up against an obstacle, they wanted to back down. They actually wanted to go back to Egypt. They would have rather returned to a life of slavery than to confront an obstacle.

Many of us are still like that. Rather than obtaining victory over the obstacles in our lives through Christ, we would rather stay right where we are, or worse, regress back into the old habits and thought-patterns that once held us captive. We choose to believe the reports that say, we are not good enough, not knowledgeable enough, not strong enough or not worthy enough to achieve victory. Guess what, we aren't! The Israelites were not all of those things. They would have had God on their side, fighting for them, if they only exercised their faith. We serve the same God and he fights for us and shows his strength in our weakness.

I've always imagined that seeing God part the Red Sea would have been a faith-building experience. Yet the Israelites still cowered every time the going got tough. How many Red Sea experiences have we had and yet we are still tempted to cower at the obstacles that lay before us? God did bring the Nation of Israel into the promised land - a generation later. Don't let a lack of faith cause you to miss out on what God has for you.

What is the primary factor that determines your decisions and belief? Is it fear or faith?