Have you ever seen someone give up before they have even tried? I have seen it happen over and over again. There is a temptation to give up when things get really tough. What we say during those times can cause even greater damage to not just the one saying it but those who hear it.
Wicked Witnesses
The children of Israel murmured/whispered against Moses often in the period of wilderness wandering. Their lack of trust in the Lord predated even their going out of the land of bondage. They said, “Is not this the word that we spake unto thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness (Ex 14:12). How will we respond when the elders say we have great work to do or when the sermon always involves a call to action? The children of Israel were witnesses of all the signs and wonders that God worked as He liberated them. Even after all that, they still went back to their mindset of bondage. We do not want to sound like the Israelites that did perish in the wilderness, not because God wanted them to fail, but because they failed to trust God.
A Wicked Companion
Job’s wife is another example of what not to say. She told her own husband to give up. “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still hold fast thine integrity? renounce God, and die (Job 2:9).” When we suffer together this is the time that we need each other’s encouragement the most. When we face trials and stressful situations, we can either call our loved ones to the Lord or to curse God and give up. We do not want to sound like Job’s wife who stood against God and not with God and her husband.
Wicked Spies
The wicked spies sent out by Moses gave a bad report to the people of Israel. They had been sent into the land of Canaan to spy out all that God was going to give them, but they came back with no trust in the Lord. “But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature (Num 13:31-33).” We do not want to sound like the wicked spies, because, rather than showing faith in the Lord, they caused the faith of the people to weep.
Confident in the Lord
Our speech is so important. The New Testament church needs to be confident in what the Lord has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. There is so much pessimistic fearful speech in the world. We are not citizens of the world. We are citizens of the eternal kingdom (Dan 2:44). If we are citizens of that kingdom, our speech must reflect that status. The Lord has promised to us salvation as the reward for our endurance (cf. Mark 13:13), a crown of life even for our willingness to even die for our faith if that should so happen (cf. Rev. 2:10). Speak with confidence in the Lord, and do not give up before you even tried.
Grace and Peace,
R.D. Beavers
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