Do you think a land so pleasant and its fruit so luscious, as the land that God promised to give His people Israel, could be despised by them? It seems difficult to see how this could be, and yet this was the very thing that was done. When they were brought to the borders of the land, they feared the inhabitants because they were strong, and they wanted to turn back to Egypt. God “had done great things” in delivering them from the sore bondage of that land, and He had done “terrible things by the Red Sea” He had cared for them in the desert; and now, at the very threshold of plenty, and rest from their weary pilgrimage, because difficulties arose, “they despised the pleasant land, they believed not His word.” Ps. 106:21, 22, 24. Here was the trouble, they did not believe God’s word. If they had believed the promises God gave them, they would have pressed on and entered in safety.
Oh, dear young Christian, what a warning here for you! The land of promise, the heavenly Canaan, lies before you.
There are difficulties in the path that leads to it, and these difficulties may, at times, seem insurmountable. Does your faith lay hold of God, or does your heart sink within you, and are you ready to wish yourself back in the world? Do the delights of that heavenly land so fill your soul that you are ready to press on through every obstacle to reach it? Or, does your heart faint within you, through the trials of the way? Ah! take care, take care, that you do not despise the glories that God has set before you. God preserve you from the evil heart of unbelief count upon Him in every difficulty that comes. And may the joys of the pleasant land, to which you are going, be so much to your heart that you will go through death itself rather than be turned aside. This faith, this courage, this desire, was seen in Caleb, and it has been beautifully exemplified in thousands of martyrs who have laid down their lives for love of Jesus. Such have not despised the pleasant land, but believing on God and counting on His aid, they have suffered unto death for His sake. Triumphant over death, victorious over all the assaults of the enemy, they await in His presence the glad day when all will be manifested in glory.
ML 04/24/1904