TEXT
Numbers 13:26-33
KEY VERSE
“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
Numbers 13:33, KJV
CONTEXT
God had brought Israel out of Egypt and was leading them toward the land He had promised them. Before Moses sent the spies, God had already said of Canaan, “which I give unto the children of Israel.” The spies were sent to explore the land, but when they returned, ten of them focused on the fortified cities and powerful people living there. Their report frightened the whole congregation. Joshua and Caleb saw the same giants, but they responded differently to what they saw.
REFLECTION
Have you ever had something happen that made you immediately start thinking, “What if…?”
Sometimes nothing has happened yet, but our minds have already gone there. We see the amount in our account and start wondering how we will survive the month. We notice some symptoms in our body, and our minds start recalling what happened to someone we know. We face an uncertain situation, and before we know it, fear has already started writing the rest of the story in our imagination.
That is what fear can do.
Israel stood at the edge of the land God had promised them. The spies came back and said the land was good. There was fruit. There was plenty.
But then they saw the giants.
And the giants became the reason they believed they could not enter the land God had promised them.
“We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.”
What makes this striking is that the giants were real. The cities were fortified. The people were strong. The spies were not simply inventing a danger.
But God had already said of the land, “which I give unto the children of Israel.”
So the question should no longer have been whether the giants were stronger than them. It should have been whether Israel would trust God enough to move forward anyway.
Instead, they looked at themselves and said, “We were in our own sight as grasshoppers.”
Notice those words: “in our own sight.” They knew how they saw themselves, but they did not know how the people in the land saw them.
Unbelief does not always sound like, “I don’t believe God.” Sometimes it sounds like, “But what if this goes wrong?” There is nothing wrong with thinking ahead, counting the cost, or preparing for a possible problem. That is wisdom. Fear is different. Fear keeps replaying the worst-case scenario until it starts to feel like the only possible outcome and we begin to live as though it has already happened.
And eventually, we start making decisions based on what we are afraid might happen.
Israel wanted to go back to Egypt. They would rather return to where God had already brought them out of than move forward into where God had promised them.
It is possible for us to, at times, do the same.
We know what Scripture says, but when the pressure comes, we start behaving as though God never said it. We pray, surrender something to God, then spend the night worrying.
You do not have to pretend the giants are small.
Caleb saw them too.
He simply responded, “Let us go up at once.”
That is faith. You can see the danger clearly and still trust the God who keeps His word. The issue is not whether fear comes, but whether fear gets to make the decision for you.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Fear becomes dangerous when it leads us to act contrary to what God has said.
PRAYER
Lord, when fear makes me forget Your word, help me remember what You have said and trust You enough to obey.
TODAY’S CHALLENGE
Read Numbers 13:26-33 again. Think of one situation you are afraid of. Ask yourself: What has God said, and what decision would I make if I truly believed Him?
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