“We can certainly conqueror it!” Numbers 13:30
We are about to face up against a team that is very athletic, quick, skilled, and well-coached. According to my husband who has spent countless hours watching film, breaking down film, and coming up with a defensive game plan, has made several comments about this team being one of the best teams he has seen since being at Carthage. He has come to that conclusion because he has done the scouting.
Just this week my husband has over 8 tapes on their opponent Dallas Madison. Now eight might not seem like a lot, but when each tape is broken down according to the preference of Garrett 8 seems to turn into 40. (You will get that in a minute) And according to the coaches that break it down it is like reading the entire Bible in ONE day. L OOOONNNNGGGG! I have said before he literally looks at what foot they step with, which direction their shoulders are turned, and what they do on every single down, 3rd and short, 3rd and medium, and 3rd in long. The list and details go on and on, and though he might be very particular, detailed, and look at everything with a fine tooth comb, He has also been EXTREMLEY successful and his athletes have been prepared, warned, and has had it driven into them during practice and film.
I always tell him if people studied the word of God like he does film, this world would be full of people madly in love with Christ. Wouldn’t it be awesome if God’s word was the film, and practice was applying His word? It would be SO awesome!
Anyway, let’s look at a group of men who were sent out to do a little scouting of their own. There were a total of 12 men. They were each tribal leaders. They were being sent to explore the land of Canaan, the land that God would be giving them. As they were heading out Moses gave them instruction on what he wanted to be scouted, and he too was very specific and detailed in what he was looking for and wanted the scouting report to contain when they returned.
“Go northward through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls or are they unprotected? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Enter the land boldly, and bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season of harvesting the first ripe grapes.)
It would take 40 days of scouting in order to obtain all the information Moses wanted and needed.
So what is my point to all of this? Just like these 12 men and my husband if they did not scout out their opponents they would be entering into the battle unprepared, lacking the appropriate armor and would not have any knowledge of the ability their opponents had or what type of schemes or plays they did, therefore being defeated.
And so will we if we do not do our own scouting individually and as the body of Christ. We need to become specific and detailed in reading and studying the word of God. So we can be equipped with the right armor, full of knowledge and wisdom and have a better understanding of the schemes of the enemy.
Prayer: Lord there is a reason You gave us Your very word to read, study, know, and live out. May we spend more time scouting out the 66 books so we can be prepared for the battle that lies ahead. Amen
