Numbers 13:21-33: a reflection

21So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath. 22They went up by the South, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23They came to the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it on a staff between two. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. 24That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from there. 25They returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days. 26They went and came to Moses, to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word to them and to all the congregation. They showed them the fruit of the land. 27They told him, and said, “We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the children of Anak there. 29Amalek dwells in the land of the South. The Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwell in the hill country. The Canaanite dwells by the sea, and along the side of the Jordan.” 30Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “Let’s go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it!” 31But the men who went up with him said, “We aren’t able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” 32They brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out to the children of Israel, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people who we saw in it are men of great stature. 33There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim. We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”

When the spies return from the promised land, they all see the same things, a good land and strong people; but they respond in two very different ways, and the difference is whether they reckon with God. Caleb says, let's go up at once and possess it, for we are well able; but the others say, we aren't able to go up, for they are stronger than we, and describe themselves as grasshoppers before the giants. We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, they said, and so we were in their sight. The same obstacles looked utterly different to Caleb and to the others: Caleb, reckoning with God's presence and promise, saw them as surmountable; the others, leaving God out and looking only at the giants, felt like grasshoppers and saw only impossibility. This shows that how we see obstacles depends on whether we reckon with God. How we see obstacles depends on whether we factor in God. Caleb saw with God in view; the others left him out. The same obstacle looks different with God in view. Leaving God out of the picture makes us feel like grasshoppers.

Notice the difference between Caleb and the other spies, who saw the very same things. They all saw the good land and the strong, fortified cities and the tall people. But Caleb, reckoning with God, who had promised them this land and was with them, said, we are well able to overcome it; the obstacles were real, but so was God, and with him they were surmountable. The other spies, leaving God out of their calculation, saw only the giants, felt themselves grasshoppers by comparison, and concluded it was impossible. The difference was not in the obstacles, which were the same, but in whether they factored God into the picture. This searches us. When we face obstacles, difficulties, things that seem beyond us, how do we see them? If we leave God out, reckoning only our own strength against the difficulty, we will often feel like grasshoppers, overwhelmed, concluding it is impossible. But if we reckon with God, his presence, his power, his promise, the same obstacle looks different, surmountable, not because we are strong, but because God is with us. We do well to face our obstacles with God in view, not leaving him out of the picture. Reckon with God, and obstacles look different than they do without him. Do not size up your difficulties leaving God out. With God in view, what seemed impossible becomes surmountable. Faced with God in the picture, giants shrink.

That is worth taking to heart, for how we see our obstacles depends on whether we reckon with God, and with God in view what seems impossible becomes surmountable. We can size up our difficulties leaving God out, reckoning only our own strength against them, and so feel like grasshoppers and conclude it is impossible, as the ten spies did; but Caleb, reckoning with God's presence and promise, said, we are well able. The difference is whether we factor God in. When you face what seems beyond you, do not leave God out of the picture; reckon with him, and the obstacle will look different. Face your obstacles with God in view rather than leaving him out, for when the spies returned from the promised land they all saw the same good land and strong people, but Caleb, reckoning with God who had promised them the land and was with them, said, let's go up at once and possess it, for we are well able, while the other spies, leaving God out and looking only at the giants, felt themselves grasshoppers and concluded it was impossible; for the difference between them was not in the obstacles, which were the same, but in whether they factored God into the picture, and this searches us, since when we face difficulties that seem beyond us and leave God out, reckoning only our own strength against the difficulty, we will often feel overwhelmed and conclude it is impossible, but when we reckon with God, his presence and power and promise, the same obstacle looks surmountable, not because we are strong but because God is with us, so that we do well to face our obstacles with God in view rather than leaving him out.

Lord, when the spies return from the promised land, they all see the same things, a good land and strong people; but they respond in two very different ways, and the difference is whether they reckon with you. Caleb says, let's go up at once and possess it, for we are well able; but the others say, we aren't able to go up, for they are stronger than we, and describe themselves as grasshoppers before the giants. We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, they said, and so we were in their sight. The same obstacles looked utterly different to Caleb and to the others: Caleb, reckoning with your presence and promise, saw them as surmountable; the others, leaving you out and looking only at the giants, felt like grasshoppers and saw only impossibility. Show me the difference between Caleb and the other spies, who saw the very same things. They all saw the strong, fortified cities and the tall people. But Caleb, reckoning with you, who had promised them this land and were with them, said, we are well able; the obstacles were real, but so were you. The other spies, leaving you out of their calculation, saw only the giants, felt themselves grasshoppers, and concluded it was impossible. The difference was not in the obstacles, but in whether they factored you into the picture. This searches me. When I face obstacles that seem beyond me, if I leave you out, reckoning only my own strength against the difficulty, I will often feel like a grasshopper, overwhelmed. But if I reckon with you, your presence, your power, your promise, the same obstacle looks surmountable, not because I am strong, but because you are with me. Take that to my heart, for how I see my obstacles depends on whether I reckon with you. When I face what seems beyond me, keep me from sizing it up leaving you out; help me reckon with you, Lord, so that with you in view what seemed impossible becomes surmountable, and I face my obstacles with you in the picture rather than feeling like a grasshopper without you.