“But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides.” Numbers 33:55 (NLT)

When I was a teenager, my momma tried to teach me the importance of choosing friends wisely. She warned me that not everyone claiming to be your friend, really cared about me or wanted what was best for me. Now, as a young person, I, like so many others, didn’t believe a word she said. I thought she had no idea what she was talking about and just wanted to keep me from having fun. Of course, looking back, I know that’s not true. My mom had my best interests at heart. She knew that who you surround yourself with will eventually shape who you become. The things they do will become the things you do. Do you know where she got this wisdom? Well, probably from experience but also from the Word of God, “Bad company corrupts good character”. (1 Corinthians 15:33) As much as my momma loves me and wants what is best for me, as wise as she is in trying to guide me to do what’s right, my Heavenly Father is infinitely wiser. He knows exactly what I need and what I don’t. He knows without a shadow of a doubt what is best for me and what will happen if I choose the opposite.

In Numbers, the LORD warns the Israelites of this very thing. But it’s not only certain toxic people that God will tell us to get rid of, He wants us to rid our lives of anything that hinders His plan and purpose for our lives. Sometimes it is a wrong relationship but it can also be a bad habit, an addiction, a sin that we persist in. There are even times when it’s not something we consider “bad”, it’s just something that God says, “This isn’t good for you right now.” Whatever it is, when God tells you to get rid of it, to let it go… do what He says. God also tells us what will happen if we don’t, it will become “splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides”.

Think about a time when you had something in your eye. A speck of dirt, an eyelash, maybe your cutting up jalapenos and rub your eye.. It causes pain, your eye becomes irritated and your vision becomes blurred. You rub and rub trying to get it out but it just gets worse. It hinders what you’re able to see. It can be difficult to see what you’re trying to do, where you need go. That’s exactly what God says will happen if we don’t heed His warning. The wrong relationship, the sin, whatever that “thing” is, will become a hindrance in our walk with God. We won’t be able to see clearly what His will and purpose is for our lives.

The same goes for the “thorn in our side”. I love to run. For the most part, when I run I don’t have any pain but there are those times when I get a pain in my side. I don’t know why or what really causes it but it hurts. Sometimes, the pain can be so bad that I have to slow down to a walk or even stop all together. Even though I want to keep running, I just can’t. When God warns us about the thorns in our side, He knows that if we hold on to what He says let go, we won’t be able to make the journey He has laid out for us. We will lose focus and veer off the path He wants us on.

Sometimes it’s easy to understand why God says to get rid of something or someone but other times, because we don’t see things the LORD sees, it doesn’t make sense. But trust Him. When God says let go, do it… immediately, knowing that even when we don’t understand the reasoning behind it, we can trust He knows what is best. And just think, when your life is free from the splinters and thorns, you’ll be ready and able to receive what the LORD has in store for you.