Session 32

What do to when "it" gets real

From Numbers: A 5-Week Devotional

We all know how it feels to be nervous or anxious. Maybe it was that time you had to stand in front of a crowd. Maybe it was that time you had to hand off a task or trusted your kids to a new school. At that moment, we have a choice: We can step up and take a risk, or we can step back into what’s familiar and give into fear.

In Numbers 32, the Reubenites and Gadites were comfortable where they were and did not want to cross the Jordan River into the promised land. Moses reminded the two tribes that to not help their countrymen take the land would be to disobey what God had clearly told them to do (Numbers 32:6-13).

Anytime we step out of our comfort zone, it’s normal to feel nervous, anxious or scared. Fear is a fact of life, but it does not have to run our lives.

The Gadites and Reubenites agreed to cross over with the rest of Israel and help them fight. And only after everyone settled into their own property, the Gadites and Reubenites returned to their homes on the other side of the Jordan River.

The lesson God taught the Reubenites and Gadites still holds true for us today: Whatever God brings us to, He will bring us through.

Some days, the path before us seems clear. Other days, we won’t be so sure. But no matter how far God brings us from our comfort zones, He will be right there with us. We don’t have to wonder if God will do what He said He’d do, we simply have to commit to following through.

Reflect:

• What is the scariest task you’ve ever been given?
• What about that task made you nervous?
• How did you feel during the task and at the end of the task?