Numbers 13:30-33 –^“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses, saying, “Let us go up and occupy it, for we are well able to conquer it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against these people, because they are stronger than we are!” ³² Then they presented the Israelites with a discouraging report of the land they had investigated, saying, “The land that we passed through to investigate is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there are of great stature. ³³ We even saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak came from the Nephilim), and we seemed like grasshoppers both to ourselves and to them.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the thought, “What Do You Fear?” flooded my mind. 

Reading in the Book of Numbers, many things came to light.   Israel went from the joy of miracles to the annoyance of perceived lack.  The miracles didn’t keep them satisfied.  They were not unlike people today.  Many expect the life of faith to be a life of ease. 

People have a tendency to remember and even long for the world.   The thought is, “it may have been hard, but…”  

In Numbers 13, God instructed Moses to do reconnaissance of the land and the people.   He wanted to give a visual of the land to confirm His promise of a land flowing with milk and honey (fertility and abundance).  No promise is without a potential problem.   The occupants would reveal the heart of the people.  What would they see both with their eyes and their hearts? 

They saw the land as being everything God said it was.  That was the foundation for faith.  God told the truth.  If God told the truth, then we can trust Him.   The 10 saw the land, but the problem outweighed the promise.   When the visual becomes more powerful than the promise, rebellion, rejection, fear, and doubt prevail.   Fear of the giants negated their confidence.   They trusted what they saw more than what God had said and done. 

In Numbers 14:8-9, Joshua & Caleb saw the unseen.   Perception sees the present and allows fear to rule.  Faith sees the unseen.   Faith and fear are like oil and water – incompatible.

The question for us is, “What do we see?”  What we SEE shapes what we think, believe, and do.  In Numbers 13:33, the 10 said, “There we Saw Giants, the sons of giants, the descendants of giants, and we were in their sight like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes.”   The multiple mention of giants reveals their focus.   It produced a perception rooted in fact but devoid of faith.   Their faith was in what they saw.  

Joshua & Caleb’s faith was also in what they saw.  They saw the promise and the God of the promise.   They were convinced that if the land was what God promised and remembered their deliverance from Egypt and the miracles, THEN the giants were not a problem.  

In life, it all boils down to what we SEE and the eyes we trust.  Eyes of faith or eyes of natural sight.  Perception or Promise.    Victory or defeat is in what we SEE!   What do we see?

Lord, help us to see with our eyes filled with you, not fear!