The Christian life is a journey of faith. Though we face trials, Jesus reassures us:
"My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28–30)
God’s promises are meant to bring us peace. He provided a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:17), a symbol of rest and blessing.
Joshua and Caleb, unlike the other spies, saw God’s power instead of obstacles:
"If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us." (Numbers 14:7–9)
They saw trials as opportunities for growth, just as we should today.
Joshua and Caleb spoke faith, but many doubted:
"And all the congregation said to stone them with stones." (Numbers 14:10)
Despite opposition, faith prevails. Caleb had a “different spirit” (Numbers 14:24)—one that followed God wholeheartedly.
The Israelites feared giants, but the giants feared them:
"As soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted." (Joshua 2:9–11)
Your challenges are small compared to God’s power. Trust in His unchanging promises.
Five Words to Live By—The Battle Is the Lord’s
The Christian life is easy. Though there are trials, Jesus said:
"My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28–30)
While we may face trials on the outside, we are meant to be at rest on the inside.
God told the people of Israel that He had prepared for them a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:17)—a land full of blessings. His heart was for them to enjoy these blessings restfully, instead of earning them by the sweat of their brow.
Today, the Lord wants the same for us. He wants us blessed, healed, and full of overflowing joy. (3 John 2)
Don’t doubt His heart of love for you!
When Israel sent twelve spies to explore the promised land, ten of them returned with an intimidating report—giants and strong walls filled the land. Because they were conscious of the enemy’s power, they saw themselves as grasshoppers.
"We were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (Numbers 13:33)
But two spies—Joshua and Caleb—had a different perspective. They were conscious of God’s love and God’s power.
They declared to the people:
"The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them."
(Numbers 14:7–9)
“They are our bread.”
Joshua and Caleb saw the enemies as bread—something to be consumed, something that would strengthen them.
God wants you to see all the difficulties in your way as food for your faith!
God doesn’t send problems to you, but He allows them so that they can nourish and strengthen your faith.
While Joshua and Caleb spoke words of faith, the congregation did not believe them.
"And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel."
(Numbers 14:10)
Even today, many will oppose us when we trust the Lord, His heart, and His Word.
At the end of the day, Joshua and Caleb were the only two in the whole congregation whom God was pleased with.
To those who refused to believe, the Lord declared:
"They certainly shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it."
(Numbers 14:23)
The people of Israel did not believe God was good enough to give them the promised land. Instead, they complained, saying:
"If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness!" (Numbers 14:2)
Because of this, God told them:
"As you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you." (Numbers 14:28)
But to Caleb, God said:
"Because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it."
(Numbers 14:24)
A different spirit.
In Hebrew, “different” also means following. Caleb had a spirit that followed the Lord.
What is this spirit?
It is the spirit of faith!
"And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed, and therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore speak."
(2 Corinthians 4:13)
The spirit of faith operates like this:
"I believe before I see, then I speak."
Not:
"I see first, then I speak."
Joshua and Caleb, who had this spirit of faith, were the only ones of their generation who entered the promised land.
The saddest part about the older generation of Israel who did not enter the promised land is this:
The giants they were afraid of… were actually afraid of them!
Rahab, the woman in Jericho, told the spies:
"I know that the Lord has given you the land… for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."
(Joshua 2:9–11)
Your enemies and difficulties may look big in the natural.
But compared to God, they are tiny!