(You can listen to the audio version at the bottom of the page.)

The Israelites had left Egypt hundreds of miles back. At the border of Canaan, Moses sent twelve men to scout out the land ahead of them. When they returned, ten of the twelve said they shouldn’t enter the land. That day, their worry blew a cold wind into the camp.

Worry seizes the imagination

By a few millennia, those dozen spies anteceded Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery in the United States. Their similar assignment: explore the Promised Land, study the terrain and the crops, report samples of their findings to Moses and the rest of Israel. Ten of the men returned shaken, aghast at the thought of inhabiting the strange land as if it was a dangerous other planet.

Since God had sent them, and since they carried back impressive examples of produce, they should have returned saying, “We’re winners!” Instead, the ten came back as worriers.

“But the people living there are powerful… We even saw giants there” (Numbers 13:28, NLT). “They are stronger than we are!” (verse 31). They whimpered, “Next to them we felt like grasshoppers” (verse 33)!

Worry hides today’s sunshine

The good news: the cluster of grapes and other fruit they brought back (verse 23). It meant a variety of food to replace manna as their steady diet.

The bad news: the size of some of the people dwelling in Canaan. Thinking about the people more than the produce, the ten scouts worried themselves into forgetting that God had promised the land to them.

Today’s clouds—their worry—prevented them from seeing tomorrow’s sunshine. Sunshine God had guaranteed.

What’s more, their nervous fears agitated the rest of Israel. The report should have been a celebration. Something worth a parade. But the worries of the ten gloomy scouts rained on that parade.

Worry steals emotional and physical health

The oft-repeated statistic is that 90% of what we worry about never happens. Other facts are more sobering. Dr. Charles Mayo, the founder of Mayo Clinic, discovered a relationship between worry and physical health: “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the digestive system and the entire nervous system.”

As for the disturbed Israelites, “Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night” (Numbers 14:1, NLT). The ten fatalistic scouts had given such a persuasive report that the people were ready to revolt, to replace Moses as their leader, and head back to Egypt to live as slaves again (Numbers 14:4).

God didn’t allow Israel to enter Canaan at that time. Thirty-eight years later, the next generation took the land.

Worry Discounts God

Worry is never a shortcut to advancing on our spiritual journey. It’s a detour. It suggests that God isn’t fully in control.

When we worry about tomorrow, we miss God’s blessings for today. When we treat problems that may never occur as if they are certain to happen, we remove the faith factor from our expectations.

Only God can concentrate on all the details of all our tomorrows. When we take it upon ourselves, we’re like the man who learned to be a juggler, but only after buying his wife a new set of dishes, four times. The difference is, we’ll never learn to juggle it all. Only God can.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:34 (NLT), “So don’t worry about tomorrow.”

Escape the Worry Detour

Ten of Israel’s scouts saw only giants. The other two saw God who was bigger than giants. The ten said, “We can’t.” The two said, “God will.”

When the Apostle Paul faced problems in His spiritual journey, he looked beyond his problems to His provider.

“Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,” (Eph. 3:20, AMP).

The Road Ahead:

1. Sometime in the 14th-century people began using the word Providence to describe God working in their lives. Derived from the word provide, Providence defines God as our guide and protector. How do you need to trust Providence instead of taking the worry detour?
2.  What would you include on a short list of concerns you need to surrender to God right now ?

Further Fuel: Proverbs 3:5-6; Philippians 4:6-7.

For the audio version, see the bottom of the page.

My favorite part of the summer Olympics is the track events.

Leading up to Rio, the fastest person on earth is the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. Usain set world records to win half of his six Olympic gold medals. His best speed so far: almost 28 miles per hour. He’s a cheetah among humans. (The fast cat, however, can run about twice that speed.)

The Bible describes Christianity as a race.

That doesn’t mean we have to pursue the Olympic motto, “Faster, higher, stronger.” God doesn’t pressure you to read your Bible faster,  have a higher percentage of faith-sharing moments per day, nor be stronger in praying out loud, than others.

We grow spiritually at different paces. As Christians, we don’t compete with each other. The Bible opposes comparing ourselves with other Christians (II Corinthians 10:12).But God does want each of us to keep heading toward the finish line.

Run to Finish the Race

In 1968, Tanzanian runner John Akwari ran in the Olympics marathon. During the race, John fell and hurt his leg. He crossed the finished line with a blood-stained bandage wrapped around the leg. He finished in last place.

Watching him hobble in, grimacing from the pain, someone asked John why he didn’t quit the race. He answered, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles just to start the race. They sent me to finish the race.

There are two extremes to avoid. The Christian race isn’t about outrunning everyone else, nor is it defined by quitting just because we face a setback. It’s about finishing as strong as we can. The Apostle Paul stated in II Timothy 4:7-8 that he anticipated a Heavenly prize for remaining faithful to God and finishing the course.

Run Without Distraction

For centuries runners have worn ankle weights for resistance training. But once a Christian is on the track, we’re to “Strip off every weight that slows us down” (Hebrews 12:1, NLT).

We’re to keep our eyes on the goal. The Apostle Paul determined that to finish the race strong, “I run with purpose in every step” (I Corinthians 9:26). Paul refused to be distracted. He constantly focused on the finish line.

Run Beyond the Wall

Runners have come to expect a predictable event that happens to them at unpredictable times. It’s called hitting the wall. When it happens, your body and mind mutiny. Pain, anguish, and fatigue overcome you. However, there’s still more race to be run.

As a person, you never know when you’ll hit the wall in life. As a Christian, there’s hope for living through hitting the wall and finishing the race.

Derek Redmond of Great Britain competed in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. During the 400 metres semi-final race, he was positioned to win. Instead, his body revolted.

During the race, he suddenly grabbed the back of his right leg. He began hobbling. Then, he knelt on the track while the other runners passed him. It would later be revealed that Derek had torn a hamstring. Refusing medical attention, he got up and began limping to complete the lap.

His father came out of the stands. He pushed past security, finally reaching Derek. He couldn’t talk his son into quitting. So they continued together. They reached the finish line with 65,000 spectators giving father and son a standing ovation.

Derek did more than hit the wall. But his experience reminds us that life’s unpredictable events can knock the breath out of us and slow our pace. For you, it may be a financial meltdown, a relational fiasco, or a strength-zapping illness.

The Road Ahead:

1. In your spiritual race, do you sometimes feel more like a slow, giant tortoise than a fast cheetah? Keep running. Charles Spurgeon once said, “By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.” Keep the faith. Jesus didn’t die for you just so you could start the race. He died for you so you could cross the finish line.
2. Has the unthinkable happened? Have you hit the wall, hard? The race isn’t over. Lean on the Holy Spirit while you find your second wind and regain your stride.
3. You may in the position to help others keep moving forward. Who can you help pace while continuing to keep purpose in every step you take?

Further Fuel: I Corinthians 9:25; Philippians 3:14.