Purpose

Kadesh Barnea

“And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, “Go up and take possession of the land I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You did not trust him or obey him” – Deuteronomy 9:23

It was a moment of decision. All of God’s promises were about to be fulfilled. Obedience was the only thing that was needed. He had guided them each step of the way, they had to keep following. And they didn’t.

My pastor often refers to the Kadesh Barnea’s in our lives – the moments of decisions where we choose whether to follow God. He pulls the reference from the time when the Israelites had to choose whether to go up and fight the occupants of the promised land, or whether they would let their fear prevent their obedience. They choose the latter, and were forced to endure many more years of suffering and defeat.

What I’ve rarely heard discussed is that the Israelites did go up and fight. After they said “no” then they said “yes” – and they were defeated. They tried to circumvent God’s punishment by doing what He said – just after the fact. They thought intentions were just as good as actions – and they were wrong.

I think we do the same thing. We are called to something, we say “no” and we realize that we’ve made a mistake. Instead of asking God what He wants us to do now we continue to try to find our own way, while ostensibly convincing ourselves that we are following Him. It rarely works. He calls us to act in a moment in time. Our job is to obey when we hear His voice. When we choose differently, our job is to seek His voice again – not to attempt to do it ourselves because our pride mingled with guilt convinces us that we can make it right.We can’t make it right. Only the One who sees the whole picture can.

It’s sometimes difficult to recognize when were at Kadesh Barnea. The Israelites had disobeyed before and sometimes God is His mercy withheld punishment. Kadesh Barnea, though, changed the course of history. That’s why it’s important to always seek His voice and to follow after His ways.

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Growth

The Price of A Prayer

How much would you pay for a prayer? Not how much would you pray to know that your prayer would be answered, but what is someone else’s outpouring to God worth to you? What is the cost of knowing the inner despair of another’s soul?

Soon we’ll know the answer to that question. Yahoo News recently reported that a man found a bunch of prayer letters washed up on the beach. Addressed to a now-deceased pastor, the prayers ranged from humorous requests to win the lottery to serious requests for assistance. Most of them were never opened until they appeared on the sand.

In a society where it seems like even people’s souls have a price tag, the man is auctioning the letters on E-bay. It’s just another example of the sacred becoming secular, of profaning for profit. Even the unspoken prayers of a soul in anguish are no longer protected. They’re just another means of exposure and intrigue.

Imagine if you were one of those people whose letters were being sold; if a stranger could now read about the abuse you suffered or the grief you experienced. What would you do if your prayers were put on public display so that another could make a buck?

Thankfully, while there may be some embarrassment and unresolved issues, the people who wrote the letters have little need of real worry. Although the letters remained unopened, their Father in heaven heard their prayers long ago. And He’s already paid the greatest price.

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