Joshua and Caleb are names that remind us of the importance of perspective. While 12 men were sent to scope out the promise land, Joshua and Caleb came back with a very different story than their 10 counterparts. Both parties gave accounts that included the good things in the land of Canaan. Both reports included exclamations of joy at the amount of milk and honey. So at what point did the reports take a turn?
The opposition. The 10 spies came back overwhelmed by the size and strength of the giants that possessed the land. It wasn’t that Joshua and Caleb didn’t see the giants. It was the fact that they saw that their God was bigger. Joshua and Caleb saw the Giants and then they saw beyond them to their God.
Can you name one of the 10 spies that came back with the bad report of the giants in the land? Did you know they are all listed in detail in the Bible? But we don’t remember them. We remember Joshua and Caleb. We remember the 2 men that believed the promise of God to take the promise land.
If you read this story of the 12 spies and thought to yourself, “That was a great story,” you have missed the entire point of the Bible. The Bible does not exist for you to read story after story for a good feeling. It exists to give instructions to forever change your life.
So when is the last time we were sent to ‘spy out’ the land? It is a silly question, but I am hoping to walk you through a little Biblical application. God has promised you things. You have visions (like the Israelites’ promise of living in Canaan), that have your own so-called giants in the way.
Let me give you a personal example. I spent 4 years writing weekly devotions for my ladies’ group. Time and time again, ladies told me that I needed to put together a book. I don’t know the last time you published a book, but it is not something you do in your free time. It takes work! Lots of work! And lots of courage! Arranging and printing words from your heart for others to read requires a level of courage that goes beyond the average day, the average year and the average lifetime, at least for me.
As my husband and I (but mostly him), began to research the process of publishing a book, we saw what I would call “Giants.” Website after website said I needed to have a popular blog, a platform, an author facebook page with a large following, and a speaking schedule of some sort. That list felt like I was looking at giants. I didn’t even want to have all of those things. With all of the demands of my life, I was overwhelmed by what the experts were saying I needed.
Over the course of a year or so, God had used so many people to encourage me that this was what I was to do. I saved encouraging emails from strangers that had received email forwards of my writing over the years. They spoke in future tense saying, “I can’t wait to read your book.” No pressure there. God was doing everything He could to remind me that just like the account of the 12 spies in Numbers 13, He was bigger than my giants.
I hope this very humble example has walked you through identifying your giants and putting them into perspective. God is bigger than anything that could get in the way of your promise land, whether it be a ministry, a great job, a project at work, amazing kids, a husband that loves the Lord or anything else that He has promised. You may need to peruse back through your Bible to see all of the promises of God.
Click here to read the article on Issuu.
Written for Gateway’s Studio G Magazine