Dave Dishman

You know the story. After hearing conflicting reports from their spies, the Hebrews rebelled against Moses in the wilderness and refused to enter the promised land. The men in the room failed to act like men. They claimed all would be slaughtered and their little ones eaten by giants. Egypt sounded safer and softer.

God reacted in displeasure and sentenced the nation to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, one year for each of the 40 days the spies roamed. Not until every last person who defied God fell dead would anyone cross the Jordan.

But what of their children, those to be served for dinner? But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected…your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.

Those kids wandered about for years, suffering the shame of their elders. They buried parents and vowed to be different. Through spartan living God formed a generation of rugged men and women who hungered for a promise beyond the horizon. Hardened and resolute, when the curse lifted they flooded across the border.

At times the Lord places you and me in situations beyond our control. We suffer for no reason of our own. Inheriting the results of poor decisions, it’s up to us to either wallow in self-pity or look to the Lord for strength. Often God needs to toughen us up, and he has a purpose in mind for doing so.

Hardened and resolute beats safe and soft every day.

Numbers 14:31-33

Photo by Juan Molina

Fortunately I’ve never experienced food insecurity. Hunger yes, but a meal always waits somewhere near. Many people in our world deal with with ongoing hunger and even famine. It’s easy to take for granted grocery stores open day and night for my convenience. I forget how good I have it.

God commanded the children of Israel to allow the land a Sabbath rest every seventh year. In that year they planted no crops, but the Lord blessed the harvest from the year before to cover two years. Then, every fifty years God instituted a year of Jubilee. Debts were forgiven, people returned to their family homes, and again, no crops were planted. However, a year of Jubilee followed a Sabbath year, meaning no work in the fields for two years in a row.

The Lord anticipated the angst: And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?” I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.

Food sufficient for three years. The faith required to trust God for such a massive harvest sounds intense. God instituted this system to allow the land to rest (a method of sustainable agriculture), and to show his people his power to meet their needs.

It’s interesting to consider faith and food, and how God provides for us. Every time I walk down the aisle at the local market the fully stocked shelves declare his goodness. The Lord promises and the Lord provides.

Leviticus 25:20-22

Photo by @mintolime

I read the book The Millionaire Next Door several years ago. The authors describe how wealthy people surround us but escape our notice. These folks live below their means and prioritize saving and investing over flashy spending. They tend toward discipline and modesty, accumulating wealth through consistent habits. It’s a fascinating book, one I highly recommend. I found it encouraging. Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to long-term financial success.

Like those incognito millionaires, we’re also surrounded by quiet people of great faith. A cloud of witnesses hovers around us, past and present, encouraging you and me to shed the extravagant lifestyle of selfishness. Instead, join those who pursue the kingdom of God. Stride out and never stop.

Those who keep to this race find themselves entering a kingdom that cannot be shaken, a home that is solid, secure and permanent.

Many around us move toward that kingdom, more than you or I realize. As we get curious and ask questions, we discover spiritual millionaires among us. In so doing we join a stream of fellow pilgrims, and walk alongside those whose faith leads to new vistas.

Hebrews 12:28

Photo by Ian MacDonald

I know a lot of smart people. Folks with expertise in various fields of study, those who understand finances and technology and medicine and mathematics. I watch smart people on the news speak about different issues and potential solutions. I like to think I’m a pretty smart guy as well.

But smart ain’t necessarily wise. Take the current upheavals over the Epstein revelations. Lots of smart people, hundreds apparently, hobnobbed with a sexual predator. They flew on his private jet, stayed at fancy resorts on his dime, met powerful people by his invitation, and partook in unspeakable acts behind closed doors. Except the doors remained ajar. His correspondence reveals the pandering of really smart people to this depraved hypnotist. Now these intelligent folks are learning the meaning of you reap what you sow.

None of these world leaders, people who make decisions affecting all of us, showed an ounce of wisdom in their dealings with Epstein. How could so many get it so wrong? Perhaps they looked to the wrong source (if they looked at all). The intelligentsia of the world point to power and wealth and influence as indicators of wisdom. But such metrics fail to measure true sagacity.

Instead, the Scriptures point a different direction: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Respect, awe and obedience to God form the foundation of wisdom. Humility lays the groundwork. Opening the Scriptures plows the ground. Practicing what we find within plants the seeds. Acknowledging the Only Wise God as our Creator and Lord brings forth a harvest of penetrating discernment.

Wisdom reveals itself in humility and reverence towards God, no hint of which is found in the thousands and thousands of pages in the Epstein report.

Psalm 111:10

Photo by Tanja Tepavac