Num. 13:25 And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days. (27) And they told him and said, We came to the land into which you sent us; and it indeed flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. (28) However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and we also saw the descendants of Anak there. (32) And they brought to the children of Israel an evil report of the land which they had spied out, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great size. (33) ...and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.
What about the ten spies? They looked at the inhabitants of the land and saw that they were "men of great size" and their cities were "fortified and very large." They looked at themselves too, and in their own sight they were "like grasshoppers." Their eyes were fixed on the difficulties before them. Herein lies the reason why so many Christians fail to experience God's keeping power--difficulties fill their vision. If one keeps looking at his difficulties, he will surely find no hope in the situation. God does not want us to set our eyes on the mountains obstructing our path; He wants us to say to the mountains: "Be taken up and cast into the sea" (Mark 11:23). It is useless to set our eyes on the mountains. The more we look at the mountains, the higher they become. Many people cannot overcome because their eyes are always set on their failures. Many people are prepared ahead of time for their failures. Defeat is certain if we are constantly contemplating defeat. As soon as our eyes are set on ourselves, we will surely fail. If God is to save us, He must first save our eyes from looking at ourselves to looking at His promises. We are courageous only as long as we keep God's promises in view. Once we see His promises, we will see that we can overcome! Caleb requested Joshua to appoint Hebron as his portion; Hebron was a great city among the Anakim, and the greatest man among the Anakim lived there (Josh. 14:12-15). He was not dismayed by the fact that the Anakim were "men of great size," nor by the fact that Hebron was "fortified and very large"; he overcame them. The whole question in relation to overcoming is: Are we trusting in ourselves, or are we trusting in the Lord? If we are relying on ourselves then of course we have to consider whether or not the Anakim are strong or weak and whether their cities are well fortified, but if our reliance is on God, then the question of human resources does not even arise. If we are trusting in God, there is no ground for fear, and victory is assured no matter how great the men and how high the city may be.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, pp. 14-15. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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