Faith versus Fear

I have been reading about Moses and the children of Israel when they were in the desert going to the promised land. Moses was tried severely by the children of Israel who complained about their condition again and again wanting to go back to Egypt. There is a lesson in this story and the lesson is not very obvious. When we have a bad attitude we are unable to feel good about anything in life. The children of Israel had an attitude of doom and gloom. It was difficult for Moses.

When the camp reached near their destination Moses sent 12 spies to see what the land was like, one from each tribe. Caleb and Joshua were from the tribes of Ephraim and Judah. They came back and enthusiastically told the camp how the land was flowing with milk and honey. Their enthusiasm was not accepted by the children of Israel when the other 10 spies came back and spoke of the giants they saw in the land and how strong the people were. The camp rebelled against the words of Caleb and Joshua and they wanted to stone them. The Lord intervened for them. Because of the rebellion the children of Israel had to spend 40 more years in the desert, one year for each day the spies were gone. Everyone who was over 20 years had died by that time except for Joshua and Caleb. Moses did not enter into the promised land but gave his last speech to the children of Israel at the base of Mt. Nebo and then was translated.

So what is the lesson to be learned? I believe that the way we think is important to the Lord. The Holy Spirit will dwell with those who think positively and do not murmur about their condition. Negative thinking entertains feelings of fear. Fear generates pride, coveting, criticism, depression, selfishness, hatred, power ploys, and mental disturbance in general. Fear is aggressive. It insists on being right, having self pity, feelings of being wronged, fearing we are not liked, and insisting on being in a bad mood. Faith generates feelings of love, uplifting thoughts, unselfishness, happiness and peace. When we insist on following thoughts of fear we are not following faith. They are opposing forces.