In Numbers 13:30 I read, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” (NIV)
If I look at the future with fear instead of faith, then I will underestimate the abilities God has given me. Seeing life with eyes of fear causes me to bury my talents.
When Moses sent spies to scope out the Promised Land, 10 of the 12 came back and said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are” (Numbers 13:31 NIV). Even though God had promised to be with them, they responded in fear rather than faith. Only Joshua and Caleb believed in God’s promise that they could take possession of the land.
People who always say, “I can’t” and the people who always say “I can” are both right. Why? Because fear creates self-fulfilling prophecies. This happened to Job when he said, “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me” (Job 3:25 NIV).
A vision based on fear rather than faith is going to limit me for my entire life. I’m going to miss opportunities. I’m going to waste the talent that God gave me. And I’m going to set myself up with self-defeating predictions.
The spies with fear-based vision saw themselves as inadequate. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size . . . We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:32-33 NIV).
There really were giants in the Promised Land! They caused some of the Israelites to see themselves as tiny bugs sure to get squashed. That’s a defeating self-image. It didn’t affect just the spies’ confidence; it also caused them to project their fears on others. That’s the problem with a fear-based vision: The way I see myself and life will rub off on the people around me.
If the spies had looked at the Promised Land with faith instead of fear, they would have seen the same thing Joshua and Caleb did: a land flowing with milk and honey. Even when they looked at the giants, Joshua and Caleb saw their potential through God’s eyes. They said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30 NIV).
Never underestimate what God can do through me when I obey him in faith. Whatever he has called me to do, I can certainly accomplish in his strength.
In summary, If God asks me to do something, I can certainly do it. However, If I look at the future with fear instead of faith, then I will underestimate the abilities God has given me. Seeing life with eyes of fear causes me to bury my talents. In Numbers 13, when Moses sent spies to scope out the Promised Land, 10 of the 12 came back and responded in fear rather than faith. Only two, Joshua and Caleb believed in God’s promise that they could take possession of the land. People who always say, “I can’t” and the people who always say “I can” are both right. Fear creates self-fulfilling prophecies. A vision based on fear rather than faith is going to limit me for my entire life. I’m going to miss opportunities and waste the talent that God gave me. I’ll end up setting myself up with self-defeating predictions. 10 of the spies saw themselves as inadequate. Creating a defeating self-image. And it didn’t affect just the spies’ confidence; it also caused them to project their fears on others. The way I see myself and life will rub off on the people around me. If the spies had looked at the Promised Land with faith instead of fear, they would have seen the same thing Joshua and Caleb did. Never underestimate what God can do through me when I obey him in faith. Whatever he has called me to do, I can certainly accomplish in his strength.
Imagine standing before a crowd and loudly voicing an unpopular opinion! Caleb was willing to take the unpopular stand to do as God had commanded. To be effective when you go against the crowd, I must (1) have the facts (Caleb had seen the land himself); (2) have the right attitude (Caleb trusted God's promise to give Israel the land); (3) state clearly what I believe (Caleb said, "We can certainly conquer it!). The negative opinion of 10 men caused a great rebellion among the people. Because it is human nature to accept opinion as fact, I must be especially careful when voicing my negative opinions. What I say may heavily influence the actions of those who trust us to give sound advice.
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