Exodus 3:7-8 And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
God instructed Moses to send spies into Canaan to scout out the land in Numbers 13.
Numbers 13:17-20 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, 18 and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.
And they did. Moses sent twelve spies to check out the land. They checked out the land for forty days. When they returned in verse 27, they told Moses: We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” (We saw the promise but we’re not sure we can get there…The people who are already there are too strong for us.)
But Caleb saw something different. Numbers 13:30 says, Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” Look at his response. “God said it’s ours, so let’s go get it.” Caleb was aware of the obstacles, but he wasn’t afraid of them. “We are well able to overcome it.” Not only can we overcome the challenges, but we are fully able to be victorious. And so are you. You are well able to overcome whatever challenges lay ahead of you when your faith is in God and you obey His Word. Philippians 3:14 says that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us; not some things, all things. But the men who were with Caleb weren’t convinced. They were intimidated by what they saw. They focused on the distractions in the land instead of the promises in the land. Sometimes the people around you will not be able to see what you see. That’s why you need to stay away from dream-killers. They can only see giants in the land. A wise prophet (Iris) once told me to focus on the promise, not on the giants in the land.
The people could not see beyond the giants. “We saw the milk and honey, nevertheless…” That’s like saying, “I know God said I can do it, but I’m not really sure that I can…” or “God said He will do it, but I’m not sure if He will or not…” Have you ever been there, caught up on “nevertheless”?
The Manna Chef 