LOOK: “Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, “Let’s go up and take the land – now. We can do it.” But the others said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other – it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilm giants. Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.” Numbers 13:26-30 (The Message)
LEARN: In this very familiar passage of Scripture, we get a glimpse of what happens when we allow our problems to become bigger than God. When the ten spies returned to Moses, they reported what they saw. The whole community was in an uproar, wailing all night long. The people grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The entire community was in on it. “Why didn’t we die in Egypt? Or in this wilderness? Why has God brought us to this country to kill us? Our wives and children are about to become plunder. Why don’t we just head back to Egypt? And right now!” Numbers 14:1 (The Message)
While Caleb had faith that God was bigger than the giants who were living in the land, the people of Israel did not. As I look at the emotions lurking behind their words of distress, I detect fear, lack of faith, negativity and perhaps some exaggeration of the truth. Because actions are determined by our thoughts and emotions, the Israelites negative attitude led to behaviors of weeping, grumbling, questioning God, making a list of “if only’s” and desiring to go backwards instead of moving forward.
I experienced a very similar situation this week. While I feel very strongly God is leading me to ‘go get the land He promised’, taking hold of this opportunity will not be without challenges. Initially, all I could focus on was the huge obstacles in front of me. They just looked insurmountable. The more I focused upon the difficulties, the bigger they seemed to get and the smaller God became. My negative attitude quickly gave way to the same behaviors of the Israelites: I wept. I grumbled. I complained. I questioned God, “Why would He do this?” God’s through with me, I’m sure of it.
When I finally allowed God to speak to me, He showed me that He is bigger than the challenges before me. He is able to do that which I cannot do. Nothing is impossible for Him. By the end of the week, I had changed my attitude. And because my attitude changed, my actions changed. Instead of retreating in defeat, I am now moving forward in faith, knowing that God is big enough to accomplish that which He promised.
LIVE: WHEN GOD IS SMALL OUR PROBLEMS ARE BIG
1. Where might you have allowed your problems to become bigger than God?
2. Scripture says that nothing is impossible with God. What does this mean to you?
3. How might this illustration of the Israelites give you faith to move forward?
4. Write a prayer asking God to help you see Him as big and your problems as small.
