What Do You See?

How good is your vision? How far are you able to see?

Joshua and Caleb, along with 10 other spies were sent out by Moses to explore the Promise Land, Canaan. They were away for about 40 days and each came back with reports of what they saw of the land. They came back with a cluster of grapes, some pomegranates and figs. The cluster of grapes would have indicated to the people of the goodness of the land that the Lord was about to give to them.

The exiled Israelites have seen God worked in many wonderful ways. They were brought out from slavery at Egypt lead by God’s chosen servant, Moses. They crossed the Red Sea on foot when the Egyptians chased them. What more could they ask from God after seeing the power of God in parting the Red Sea and closing it after them, drowning the Egyptians? While traveling to Canaan, the Lord guided them and gave them a cloud in the day time to protect them from the scorching desert sun. During the long and cold night, God gave them a pillar of fire to give them light and warmth. God provided them quail and manna from heaven when they grumbled because of the lack of food. God even gave them water out from a rock. The Amalekites came and attacked them but God intervened and gave the Israelites victory. At Mount Sinai they witness the Lord speaking to Moses and giving him the Ten Commandments. These Israelites would have seen so much of God to ever doubt in God.

Yet they doubted God’s power and lost their faith and trust in the God that brought them to Egypt through and with so many miracles.
When the 12 spies got back from exploring the land of Canaan, all of them came back bringing bad news except for Joshua and Caleb. The 10 spies came back with bad reports saying that the people who lived there are powerful and their cities are fortified and very large.

Then boldly Caleb stood up, silenced the crowd and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

The people shouted back, “We can’t attack these people; they are stronger than we are. The land we explored devours those living in it. All he people we saw there are of great size. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we look the same to them.”
At night they grumbled before Moses and said, “If only we had died in Egypt! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land to be murdered? Our wives and children would be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt? We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt!”

Go back to Egypt? Go back to slavery?

What did Joshua and Caleb saw that the other 10 spies did not see? What did Joshua and Caleb saw that gave them strength and hope and faith and what did the 10 spies saw that gave them fear and hopelessness?

Joshua and Caleb saw what the other 10 spies did not see. Joshua and Caleb saw the promise of God. They saw how the hand of God had brought them out of Egypt. They saw not only the big army of enemies in front of them but they also saw the Lord their God standing with the Israelites. The 10 spies saw fear; Joshua and Caleb saw God’s strength. The 10 spies saw a huge army; Joshua and Caleb saw their huge God.

What do you see in front of you? Do you see only your trouble or do you also see God beside you? Do you see impossibility or do you see possibility with God? Do you want to turn and head back to Egypt? You want the land of slavery or the land of promise?

How you see things will determine how you will deal with it.

So, what do you see?

Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...