12 November

Today’s the day when in 2001 Greek authorities announced they would hold in custody 12 British plane spotters who had been arrested on charges of spying. The 11 men and one woman denied taking photographs in a restricted military zone. They had been attending an air show at a military base near Kalamata in southern Greece. British diplomats said they understood the group had a written invitation to attend the air show, but one which would have included a strict no-photography clause. They expected the court to view the whole affair as a cultural misunderstanding since plane-spotting is almost unheard of in Greece but in fact it took the group until 2003 to clear their names.

Back in the Old Testament some real spies managed to go unnoticed in their mission to bring a report of the Promised Land to Moses and Aaron. Some of the spies were filled with fear by what they saw, but Joshua and Caleb were full of faith. Their report is recorded like this in Numbers 14:

"The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."

There’s a word to encourage us to trust God today, whatever we think lies ahead.