A Faith Lesson from James Bond

Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night. (Joshua 2:1 NLT)

Reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, espionage or other forms of "spying" were not invented by the Pentagon, the CIA or the M15. James Bond was not the first spy. Many entities have used spying to gather useful information about their competitor or enemy for thousands of years. Spying involves infiltration of an enemy's camp and then gathering information about their strength, weaknesses or plans. Other forms of information gathering such as industrial espionage involve companies gathering information about their competitor in order to stay ahead in innovation and market share. Although much of the spying that goes on currently involve many dark practices, spying can be put to good uses as our text illustrates.

Joshua, as Moses has done earlier, sent spies to scout the land around Jordan and Jericho. He had received the promise from God that Jericho was theirs to conquer and possess. Although the promise was sure, having a promise was one thing but having the right strategy to actualize the promise was another. It is possible to possess a promise from God and at the same time lack the vision, strategy or wisdom to actualize it. Joshua was in search of wisdom-based strategy. He needed vital information about the strengths and vulnerability of the land. When the spies returned later, they informed him that Jericho was ready for possession because everyone was terrified of Joshua's army. A terrified people is a defeated people.

Here's the lesson in this. Learn to spy out your own promised land. Your promised land might be a new location you are moving to, a new industry you intend to start a business in, a new city to begin a ministry, the marriage institution you plan to enter, a career path you want to enter, a relationship you are contemplating , a just cause you intend to advocate for etc. Pastors should gather information about their neighborhoods. Ministries should analyze their contexts. Couples without children should spy out parenting. Even Jesus, asked, " Who do people say the son of man is? " He spent time with the doctors and lawyers learning about their practices and beliefs. These were people he would confront later. You confront better when you know how your subject thinks and you can anticipate his or her responses.

Begin spying out your promises. It is usually the easiest step to take in the faith process of possessing your promises. Take a dream trip into your future. Visit where you intend to inhabit. Interact with those you hope to influence. Let not your next step be completely uncharted. Don't stay in willful ignorance of the contextual realities of your dreams. Get practical information. Window shop your dream destiny. Research that career area. You may not have the money yet but information is power. Faith is an action. Begin your own reconnaissance mission today. Take a faith lesson from the spies.


Decision of the Day

I chose to spy out my promises from today. I know information is power. I will window shop my destination. I will research my field.