Strong Men, Fortified Cities, and Giants!

Klint Ostermann • March 29, 2015

It’s easy to judge the Israelites in the Old Testament isn’t it? I mean, wouldn’t you trust God if you saw all the plagues He performed in Egypt? I live next to the Nile River and if I saw him turn it into blood, I think I would believe! How about three days of darkness over Egypt, but light over the Israelites? Wouldn’t you trust in His provision? How could they not trust God when they saw Him part the Red Sea and then walked across dry ground, only to watch the massive army chasing you get destroyed by the waters? Shouldn’t the Israelites have trusted God then? What about getting led by pillars of clouds and fire, or manna in the desert, or quail all over the ground, or water from a stone, or defeating Amalek? The Israelites even heard with their own ears God speaking to Moses! How on earth could the Israelites not trust that if God had brought them through everything so far, He would continue to provide for them? I think that if I were there, I would have trusted God completely! At least that’s what I thought before God opened my eyes to my own hypocrisy! Let me explain how that happened…

I do some discipleship with a man named Bosco, a general manager for an organization called One More Child that ministers and supports over 250 children from the slums around Jinja. We’ve been studying various men of the Bible and learning leadership lessons from each one. This past week, we studied Joshua. Joshua was one of the 12 spies that Moses sent into Canaan, the Promised Land, to learn about the quality of the land and its inhabitants. We see in Numbers 13 and 14, that ten of the spies tell Moses that while the land is flowing with milk and honey, there are strong men, fortified cities, and even giants in the land! They even said they felt as small as grasshoppers compared to some of the inhabitants of Canaan. They wanted to go back to Egypt!

Caleb and Joshua were the only two spies that recognized that God had been faithful to deliver them this far and would continue to provide for them. Joshua said, “The Lord is with us, do not fear them.” The Israelites even tried to stone him for apostasy before the Lord stepped in.

I was telling Bosco that one lesson we can learn from Joshua and this story of the 12 spies is that we can often forget what God has brought us through and lose heart when we face our own strong men, fortified cities, and giants. I told him that we shouldn’t be like the Israelites and lose heart. It was at that moment that I felt God rebuking me for doing the same thing the Israelites did!

You see, I have my own strong men, fortified cities, and giants that I’m currently facing. We are in the process of purchasing land, which is a huge struggle in Uganda. We are working on getting our ministry registered as a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), which is another huge hurdle. We are also in the process of setting up our vocational training program. In order to do this, we need to raise additional funds to have all the people, tools, and resources in place before the first of the year when our vocational school will begin. I lost hope and felt just like the other 10 spies and even thought it might be better to go back home like the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt.

I had forgotten how God has provided for me thus far. I forgot how He raised the funds we needed to be able to live in Uganda in less than six months. I forgot how He provided a new roof for our house so we could sell it before we left for Uganda. I forgot how He helped us create a 501c3 corporation to support our mission before we left. I forgot how He brought along a whole support team to provide and pray for us while in Uganda. I forgot how He raised the funds we needed to purchase land in Uganda in one and a half months! I forgot how He provided the land He wanted us to purchase. I forgot how He has opened up so many doors for us to move our ministry along. This is no different than the Israelites forgetting about plagues, the Red Sea, manna, and hearing God.

I lost heart when I faced trials and forgot God’s provision. I was responding to these obstacles exactly opposite of Joshua. I was doing exactly opposite of what I was telling Bosco to do. I was being a hypocrite! God spoke to me and reminded me to trust in Him. Trust that He is still on the throne and will continue to provide for the calling He placed on our lives. I trust you God!

The post Strong Men, Fortified Cities, and Giants! appeared first on Heart For Uganda.

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