Settle

Numbers 32:1-5 The tribes of Reuben and Gad owned vast numbers of livestock. So when they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideally suited for their flocks and herds,  they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the other leaders of the community. They said,  “Notice the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah, Nebo, and Beon.  The Lord has conquered this whole area for the community of Israel, and it is ideally suited for all our livestock.  If we have found favor with you, please let us have this land as our property instead of giving us land across the Jordan River.”

Isn’t it interesting that the tribes of Reuben and Gad decided that the land that they had before them was better than the land that God had promised.  They had not entered the promise land to see what it would offer their families and livelihoods when they declared that where they were was good enough. It wasn’t the battle before them, they said that they would fight alongside of the other tribes for them to possess the land, but they were ready to stop short of the promise God gave them.

I find myself critical of them for stopping short of all that God promised.   He didn’t take them from Egypt not to meet their need.  These were His chosen people on the brink of everything they had been walking towards for forty years.   God knew what their animals would need when he had them set out for the Promised land.  Why would they stop short?  Why settle for less than the best God had to offer.

Maybe it is that I have been in a spot recently where I have questioned if pressing past the current is worth it.  I know that there is more, and I can see that it is close, but it is so tempting to just settle.  I am in a spot where things are good.  My needs are met.  I am satisfied, content.  All is well.

Why am I so willing to have help others reach for their promises and let my own promises pass me by? How many promises have I let pass me by while I was in mood to just settle?  How many times has God let me have what I was content with, while He was left holding on to something better?

I know the cost of settling. Eventually one grows tired of status quo and seeks more.  Why should I settle now, only to be discontented later?  How many times am I willing to forgo the best God has to offer because the here and now is good enough?

God didn’t call me to live good enough.  He called me to live abundantly.

God didn’t call me to settle, He called me to be more than a conquer.