Dare.

So one of the stories of my Christian life is how bad I am at doing Christian things.

The most notable of these "things" concerns the areas of both prayer and reading Scripture.

Recently, while in Illinois, I decided that it would be a cool idea if I read through the first five books of the Old Testament (called the "Torah"). I don't know why this has always been a goal of mine, but there's just something about Old Testament Law that gets my blood pumping. Nothing's better than reading about how a woman is to properly clean up after her menstural period or rules on what to do if your donkey knocks over your neighbor's barrel of grain.

But as with all things I set out to do, my enthusiasm surely fades. My quest to read the entire Torah ended after about 3 chapters. Okay, more like 2 and a half. I didn't even start at the beginning; I started with the last book (Deuteronomy) simply because in my attempts to read before, I'd never gotten that far, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

And while I may have failed, I was reminded of a story, and I looked at it in an entirely new light. It's the story of Israel's possession of the land of Canaan.

Deuteronomy begins with basically a re-hashing of what's gone on in the history of the Israelites. God wants to remind them of how they were once slaves in Egypt. They experienced the pinnacle of oppression. However, in the midst of this, God heard the cries of his people and delivered them. He sent Moses as a spokesperson for the people, and after a series of mighty plagues, the Israelites were finally set free from captivity. A parted Red Sea and destroyed Egyptian army later, Moses and the Israelites were camped just outside of Canaan, the "Promised Land."

At this point, the Israelites devise a plan. They want to select a group to go into Canaan and act as spies. These men will take a look at the land, and see its benefits. They will also investigate the cities, and the best possible routes of attack and escape and so on. Basically, they will see what they are up against. Moses thinks this is a good idea and picks 12 men to go.

When these men arrive back in Israelite camp, they all come back raving about the land. It's amazing. The land is fertile; it would be a beautiful place to settle and start their country. They also come back talking about the people. They are big and fierce. They are warriors. Two of the spies believe that Israel should invade; God has promised to deliver them, and this land is ripe for the taking! The other 10 say that while the land is great, the risk is too dangerous. Israel should not invade, in spite of God's promise to be with them.

If you continue reading, you discover that Israel does not invade, and is instead punished. God will no longer fight with them, making any attempt for them to take the land now futile. Instead, they must wander around in the wilderness, waiting for God to be with them (which would take 40 years). This seems harsh, but hey, after seeing the amazing plagues in Egypt, I don't think that military victory is much of a far stretch, and the Israelites should know this. Even more, the Israelites make God out to be a ferociously deceptive liar. I mean, what a tease to lead them so far only to allow them to be conquered at the very end. I can kind of empathize with God's feelings a little on this one.

But my point is this:

We are Israel.

How many times do we refuse to claim what God has promised us?

The Christian life is a journey. It has its highs and lows, ups and downs. But through it all, we believe in a God who leads us, guides us, and wants to give us the best of what he has to offer. So many times, God places something incredible and amazing before us, yet we don't receive it because (like the Israelites) we don't have the courage to act.

I am not a proponent of "name it and claim it" theology where we ask God for anything and everything under the sun and expect to get it just because we asked for it. I do, however, believe that God wants to give his children amazing and awesome things. Yet, he seldom ever just gives them to us. We have to work for them.

God will do his part. He will make a way, and he will continue to provide opportunities and chances to recognize whatever this awesome thing is that he has set out before you. But the thing is that we must have the courage to act. God doesn't allow us to simply stand idly by, hoping, wishing, and waiting for something to happen. He wants us to take the leap of faith and trust that along the way, he will make it happen.

I always had a love/hate relationship with high school dances. I loved them because it was a good time. You got to go out to dinner with friends and then you got to dance and stay out late with everyone else. Those were good times.

But I hated these dances because they required one thing: a partner. As a guy, you had to ask someone to go with you. And if you know anything about me and the ladies, you know that taking the initiative and asking a girl out happens for me about as often as Pat Robertson makes a decision to be kind, caring, and non-hypocritical (so like, once every seven years or so). Even if you chose to fly solo, you had to have a partner for some of the dances. So at that point, you had to make the dreaded walk across the room and ask someone. I think I just peed my pants thinking about it.

The reward is there. But it is risky. It requires you to man up and act. And just like asking a girl to dance, God calls us to a similar type of risk. You see, the Israelites didn't fail in their recognition that the road before them was tough. Their failure lied in their inability to have the courage to act.

So my questions to you are simple:

What is your "Promised Land?" What has God placed before you?

Will you cower away? Will you act?

I don't want to spend my life thinking of what could've been if I'd only had the courage to move.