*In Num. 13:1, the Lord spoke unto Moses saying,“Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.” So, twelve men searched the land and returned after forty days. When they returned, Caleb said unto the people,“Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” But the men that went up with him said (v. 31-33), “We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 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.”
*God had already said that he had given them the land, but because of fear and doubt, Caleb discouraged the people.
How do you see yourself? Do you allow worldly events and people around you to discourage you to the point that you see yourself in a different light than God sees you? If you have been born again, God sees you as victorious because he has placed his spirit within you. He doesn’t expect great feats from us, just trust and obedience. Micah 6:8 says, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”
*Just as he promised the Israelites the land of Canaan, we have been promised the kingdom of heaven, and just as they had to go and possess the land, we must fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life
(I Tim. 6:12).
*Although we face many things in this life, we must keep faith, for it is by our faith that we have victory to overcome (I Jn 5:4). It is when we trust God most that we show our love for him, because our trust shows Him that we truly love Him, and in trusting Him we are following Him fully as Caleb did >
Num. 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
*We should be careful when we are tempted to doubt, that we don’t find ourselves bringing an “evil report” as the men did that went with Caleb. They didn’t enter in to the promised land because of unbelief. Heb. 3:12 says, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
*We live by faith, we are justified by faith, and without faith it is impossible to please God, for we must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. > Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
*In Christ, we are not as grasshoppers in the sight of the enemy. Rather, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. >
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Comments