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them His best. Tragically, their unbelief prevented that generation from ever entering the Promised Land. They missed the incredible life God wanted to give them because they chose to trust their own instincts over God’s promises. Stubborn and continual unbelief can rob us of the rich life, the great adventure, and the incredible legacy God wants to give us, just as it robbed this generation of Israel. We need a holy fear of ruining our lives through doubt or unbelief. No one in heaven will ever catch God telling a lie or failing to keep a single promise. Not for one second of all eternity. We will all fail to be loyal to Him, but He will never be anything but trustworthy to all humankind. Unlike us, He is never fickle and never tells a half-truth. The Bible assures us that “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). I wonder how different our lives could be if we lived as if God was this reliable.
CULTIVATING CONFIDENCE IN GOD Any event or circumstance can be transformed by simply expecting God to be as amazing, powerful, friendly, wise, loyal, devoted, loving, and fatherly as He says He is. Living this out on a daily basis is a journey. No one does it perfectly all at once. A habit of walking by faith won’t happen overnight. Every day we miss opportunities to have great expectations of God because we simply forget or because we doubt. But the more we take even the smallest steps, the more we turn on the lights to the real world. Each day opens the possibility of a great adventure in trusting His promises and considering every command a path to paradise.