The Two Journeys

Often in life we are presented with a moment of decision, a crossroad as it were. In this very moment we are presented with two options, continue down the path that you are going or turn and go down a new path. I can think about several times in my own life that I have been presented with this moment of decision and cannot image where I would be today if I had not chosen to go down the new path. In the Bible we come across a story about the Nation of Israel and their God-appointed leader, Moses, and a decision that God lays out for them.

The Command

“The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you:go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.” — Deuteronomy 1:6–8

The Response

Up until this point in the journey things had been going well for the nation of Israel. They were growing, fighting battles, and winning some wars. At this very moment God gives them a decision to make saying, “turn you…” this was a clear deviation from the expected path that was the norm at the time. This would be a change in scenery, an unfamiliar land, uncharted territory, they would “boldly go where no man had gone before” To a place that God had already given them, all they literally had to do was take it, it was already their rightful property in God’s mind. So you might ask, what happened? I’m glad you asked. The rest of the verses in this entire chapter contain the description of the timidness of the faith of the Nation of Israel. Instead of turning and pursuing, they sent out a small group of people to survey the land, a scouting party if you will. So the merry band of men go to scout out the land and they return reporting on the findings of their mission. As it turns out, there a lot of awesome things about this land. There is a vast supply of resources, fertile ground to grow crops, literal fruit by the plenty, but, there was one huge negative, the people that already lived there were giants.

The Obstacles

Now I don’t know about you, but I am a height of exactly six feet even on a great day with really amazing Chuck Taylor’s ® on my feet, by no means a gargantuan of a person. The closest person to a giant that I can think of now is Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.

This guy has competed at the World’s Strongest Man competition the last six years and has nearly won it a couple years in a row. He can squat over 700 pounds, Bench Press over 500 pounds, and Deadlift nearly 1,000. He is huge. Well now getting back to our story, imagine an entire small city with people all the same size or large then Hafþór! Before we get a little down and hard on the Nation of Israel, think about your response to that situation. If you are like me often the habit of visualization has helped in successful future encounters. When you visualize yourself in the moment ahead of you, you can play out possible outcomes and see what pain-points might be in the situation ahead and plan accordingly to get around them. If I’m visualizing taking over a land of people from the likes of Hafþór, I don’t imagine that I would simply waltz in and say, “hey man, I know you have been here forever, and your family has, and your family’s family has, but your land is my land now, you need to leave.” If I were to do that I’m sure Hafþór would at best beat me to a pulp. The thing you and I have to remember is this, that entire scenario would make no sense whatsoever if I were the one making the acquisition of land. But in many cases, as in this story, it’s not my acquisition to make, God has already made it for me, I simply need to “turn.”

The Outcome

So you might ask, what happened in the end, well it’s complicated. Here’s just the facts…

• God told them to go turn, they didn’t
• God told them he would punish them because of this, they apologized and then said they would turn
• God responded by saying, don’t because you wouldn’t obey the first time, if you do now I won’t be with you
• They turned anyway, encountered the enemy, and were slaughtered as a result
• The remainder of the people that weren’t slaughtered were left to wander in the wilderness for the next forty years of their life
• They died and their children lived
• Their children finally obeyed and took the land

Whew, that was intense. So what are some lessons we can learn and what am I trying to say to you.

Lesson #1 — Familiar territory is the most comfortable — If you and I are familiar and comfortable with the situation we are at in life, we most likely are or very soon will become complacent. The road to success is a hard and uphill climb but the alternative is a mediocre boring life filled with regret, heart ache, and lingering questions of “what if I had?”

Lesson #2 — Delaying to obey is just as much disobedience as disobedience itself — I am currently a father of one…and a half, not really. I have a three-year old and we are expecting our second daughter in September. As my wife and I are training my current daughter, one of the many struggles we have right now is getting her to obey immediately and not have to tell her a second and third time to do something. With God, he wants our immediate response as well.

Lesson #3 — Acting now could save years of regret for your life — Don’t go weird on me, but lately when I am going to bed, I’ve had this reoccurring thought in my mind of the exact moment of my death. I picture myself in a hospital bed with those that I love around me and the exact second I take my last breath I also realize I will never have another chance to do anything on this earth, nothing. All the times I told myself I wish I could talk to this person, we should go here, I should try that, I wonder what would happen if I? All of those scenarios are gone, no more chances to tell the person I love, that I love them. No more chances to hug my daughter and cuddle her to bed at night. Not one more chance to see a new city, try a new food, or compliment a job well done, all are gone. When I get to that moment in real life, I hope I don’t come to it with a bag full of regrets, I hope I arrive at that moment content that I was a good steward of the years of life that I had while here on Earth.

What do you think? Have you had moments of decision in your life? Have you ever been scared to try something new? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.