Numbers 13:31 –
But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”
How many times does God have to show that He is with them before they will understand His favor? Here you have a leader that talks to God face to face, not through visions or prophets. His guidance is clear from God, no riddles or interpretive dreams. Yet the people still doubt and let that doubt control their destiny. Moses sent scouts to look at the Promised Land, and the reports back were both grand and scary. The people ignored the hope and focused on the negative.
Do you ever do that in your life? See something that is hopeful and instead focus on the negative? How many of your friends take your dreams and turn them upside-down with negative reinforcement? One of my favorite “dreams” was when the “Wall” came down in Berlin. I was watching the happenings on TV and wanted to be there. I told my fathers and first thing out of his mouth was “you don’t even have a passport!” In this case it motivated me to do it and less than a week after the Berlin Wall fell I was passing through Checkpoint Charlie!
Now that was “real” and easily done with some time and money. But what about something that is not so easy to rectify like your faith? When someone questions God with science do you stand firm or waver? Do you boldly proclaim God’s power or do you let those doubts crack your faith? Tomorrow we will see what happens, if the people reject the negative and rest on God. Based on past “history” I think you can guess the answer.
The key here to learn is how you direct your focus. Do you focus on the grapes that take two men to carry a single cluster or the giants living next to them? Do you rest on the promises of God or the reality of the bills in front of you? Doesn’t matter if there are giants in front of you and your only defense is a sling and a stone, God will be with you. The key is not to let others erode your faith in that promise. If you know it’s from God, have faith and rely on God’s love.