Choosing faith over comfort
But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out. ~ Numbers 32:23
Have you ever found yourself settling for what feels comfortable now, even when you know God may be calling you to something more later? In today’s world, it is easy to choose what looks good, feels safe, or meets immediate needs, rather than trusting God’s long-term promise and direction. In Numbers 32 we will read about the tribes of Reuben and Gad, who saw fertile land and wanted to settle there instead of crossing into the Promised Land. Their request reveals a tension every believer faces, choosing between comfort and calling.
Below are three important truths from this chapter about following God faithfully, especially when comfort and obedience seem to pull in different directions.
1. Short term comfort can distract from long term purpose.
The land looked perfect for livestock, and on the surface their request made sense. But Moses challenged them because settling early could discourage others from fully obeying God.
Ask God to show where comfort may be influencing your decisions more than calling. Make a simple list of what feels easy right now and compare it with what God has already asked of you. Choose one step of obedience that may feel uncomfortable but honors Him.
2. God cares about how choices affect others.
Moses reminded them that their decision could weaken the courage of the rest of Israel. Faith or unbelief is never lived in isolation, it always impacts those around you.
Pay attention to how personal decisions affect family, church, or coworkers. Choose actions that strengthen others in faith, even if it requires extra effort or sacrifice from you.
3. Obedience requires follow through, not just good intentions.
Reuben and Gad promised to help fight alongside Israel before settling down. Moses held them accountable to keep their word.
Finish what God has already placed in front of you. As you committed to serve, forgive, give, or step out in faith, ask the Holy Spirit for strength to complete it, even when enthusiasm fades.
I still have moments in my life when I want to settle into what feels manageable and familiar. I know God is continually asking me to trust Him beyond my comfort zone and take the next step, yet it can feel easier to pause and stay where I am. Even though I understand that delayed obedience often comes from fear rather than wisdom, every time I choose to move forward anyway, God meets me with clarity, strength, and growth I could never grow in by staying comfortable. In those moments, I remember that obedience always carries purpose, especially when it requires a step of faith and complete reliance on God’s empowering grace to meet me there.
Today I want to encourage you to trust God beyond what feels comfortable and familiar. Choose obedience over ease, follow through on what He has asked, and believe that His promises are worth the journey. God sees your faithfulness, and through your obedience He will strengthen you and those around you as you move forward into all He has prepared.
Today’s scripture reading: Numbers 32
1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock,
2 the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying,
3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon,
4 the country which the Lord defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”
5 Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.”
6 And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?
7 Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them?
8 Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land.
9 For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them.
10 So the Lord’s anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying,
11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me,
12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’
13 So the Lord’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.
14 And look! You have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel.
15 For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”
16 Then they came near to him and said: “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones,
17 but we ourselves will be armed, ready to go before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
18 We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance.
19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.”
20 Then Moses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war,
21 and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies from before Him,
22 and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be blameless before the Lord and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.
23 But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.
24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what has proceeded out of your mouth.”
25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: “Your servants will do as my lord commands.
26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead;
27 but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, just as my lord says.”
28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel.
29 And Moses said to them: “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession.
30 But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”
31 Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: “As the Lord has said to your servants, so we will do.
32 We will cross over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan.”
33 So Moses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country.
34 And the children of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer,
35 Atroth and Shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah,
36 Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep.
37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kirjathaim,
38 Nebo and Baal Meon (their names being changed) and Shibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built.
39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it.
40 So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it.
41 Also Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them Havoth Jair.
42 Then Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name.
Journal:
- Where might comfort be influencing a decision God is asking me to surrender
- What has God already asked me to follow through on
- How can my obedience encourage someone else in their faith today
The Daily Dose 