School is finally out and it’s a beautiful mid-June, sunny, summery day. It’s that time of year when I see RV’s being pulled down the highway. I watch the happy campers with all their camping gear get ready to hit the campground for the weekend. What a great way to enjoy the season of outdoor living
“Happy Camper” was a very, annoying term that was popular when I was a kid in the early 80’s. The definition is “a satisfied person who is cheerful” but was usually used sarcastically.
When I was growing up my family didn’t camp in a RV on a campground, but we camped in A-frame tents on the banks of the lake. It was wonderful to wake up to the smell of eggs and bacon being cooked by mom on a black skillet over the campfire. The peaceful, lake waters sloshing on the banks, and the excitement of going fishing with my dad would encourage me to wake up with the sunrise. You could say I was a happy camper, well at least until I had to walk 1/4 of a mile to a bathroom, rub aloe on my sunburn, or throw away the little Debbie cakes that the ants found before I did.
The phrase “Happy Camper” makes me think of the Israelites. They flipped-flopped their way through 40 years of being “Happy Campers” or “Not Happy Campers” it just depended on their circumstance. Today we do the same thing in our life. We base our attitude on our feelings, which can be misleading, instead of God’s promises. In the following passage of Deuteronomy chapter 1, we find the Israelites as not very happy campers.
Compasses and Maps
Deuteronomy 1:21 Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
had a plan for the Israelites. He gave them 3 very clear instructions. 1. Possess the land 2. Don’t be afraid 3. Don’t be discouraged.
God has a plan all mapped out for your life. Are you praying and reading the Bible, so you will know His plan? If you aren’t sure of His plan for your future, then right now do what God has already commanded. 1. Pray 2. Read the Bible 3. Fellowship with believers 4. Tell others about Him. Like following a compass, His plan becomes more clear as you stay on the right path.
Calling All Scouts
22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.23 And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:24 And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eschol, and searched it out.25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us.26 Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God:
In verses 22-26 the Israelites are doubting God’s plan. They were not “happy campers” when it came to trusting God. They decided to scout it out for themselves to see if there was something good in their future or not. Faith was hard for the Israelites. Possibly their many years in bondage made things seem too good to be true. They even became rebellious after the reports came back that the land was good. I have found in my life that peace usually comes after I step out on faith, and not anytime sooner.
Kum-ba-ya by the Bonfire
30 The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; 31 And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. 32 Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God, 33 Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.
The Israelites needed a pep talk. They needed to hear reminders of the past and promises of future victories. God had provided for them this far and He will continue to lead them safely. When are we going to let God fight our battles and stop trying to win them in our own strength? Complaining leads to discouragement which makes us miss the blessings of life. This cycle becomes a pattern that must be broken. You can break the pattern. Remember God’s faithfulness in your life and let Him fight your battles. He will lead you to a place of another victory.
Are you a happy camper today? If not, you can be one by reflecting on God’s goodness and by making a conscious decision to be aware of God’s presence in your life every day.
Tune My Heart 