I don’t know whose heart was beating faster. Mine or my sons. These games can really stress a mama out! 

We were up, they were up. We were giving it our all, but so were they…and now the opposing team was up by a pretty large margin. 

My son glanced into the stands. He knew what was coming. I knew it too. 

There’s this look my husband gives our son during these kinds of pressure filled basketball games. 

The look says, “I need YOU to not give up. I need YOU to take it to the next level.” 

In Numbers chapter 32, the Israelites were in the final stretch of their game. They had fought battle after battle…and now they were so close to their inheritance, they could practically taste it! 

But they were tired. 

In Numbers 32:5,  two tribes (the Reubenites & Gadites) have a request for Moses. ‘CAN WE JUST settle here on THIS side of the Jordan? THIS land is suitable for our livestock. We’d rather not cross over.’ 

Umm…remember that LOOK my husband gives my son? Well, Moses gave these men THAT SAME LOOK plus a very stern talking to. 

THIS wasn’t Moses’ first rodeo. He had seen this play out before…and the last time complacency settled in, it cost an entire generation (minus Joshua & Caleb) their inheritance. 

Moses knew their attitude would be contagious. If these men settled on this side of the Jordan…others would want to do the same. 

So Moses made a deal with these tribes, and the tribes agreed. 

They will cross over into Canaan armed and ready for battle but the property they inherit will be on this side of the Jordan. (Numbers‬ ‭32:32‬)

It was a win for everyone. 

Friends, for many of us, this past year has been one battle after another battle.  Can I get a witness? ??‍♀️

At one point last year, I told my sister that I was scared to even venture out. I didn’t know what the enemy had planned for me around the next corner.

It’s easy to retreat, take an extra long sabbatical from doing anything productive, or just go into hiding…and it’s easy to allow those we love to do the same. 

But let’s not. 

That particular basketball proved to be a real nail biter & my heart never stopped racing. I could’ve really used a beta blocker (sorry, inside pharmacy joke). 

It literally came down to the last ten seconds. I could barely watch. But we did it!!! We won! 

You see, my husband gives my son THAT look, because he knows, if one player gets hyped, the rest will follow. 

Fear isn’t the only thing that’s contagious…so is faith and courage! 

For the sake of the entire community, Moses needed the Reubenites & Gadites to continue in battle and not retreat.  For the sake of our community & His Kingdom, God needs us to do the same.  

Feel like giving up? Look up to the Father. He knows the victory that lies ahead. And I have a feeling He is giving you that look. He is saying…

“I need YOU to not give up. I need YOU to take it to the next level.”

~Binu