“Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’” Deuteronomy 1:28

Looking back on my early years, I do not remember having any health issues so you can imagine my mom’s complete and utter shock when my kindergarten screening did not go well. Decades later I asked her how she knew I needed glasses at such a young age. She stated, “Tena, when you did the eye test at your kindergarten screening, you could not read the big E.” Moments later she said to me, “Then, I went home and cried.” I knew the hidden meaning behind that statement. She was weeping over the first five years of my life when I had fooled her, my dad, and my grandparents. They all thought I could see perfectly fine. Actually, I could see 20/20 with my right eye. However, my left eye is practically blind due to astigmatism, and I have been wearing eyeglasses or contacts almost my entire life to help with this.

Reflecting on this season in my life, I was reminded of the ten spies who thought that they could see clearly when they went on their undercover mission into the Promised Land and came back with their negative report. Unlike Caleb and Joshua, these ten spies said that moving into the Promised Land was impossible because of the odds stacked against them. As they focused on the giants, the walls, and their own limitations, they froze in fear. The entire population of the Israelites trusted that these spies could see correctly and believed their pessimistic report. Because the ten spies fooled the entire population of Israelites, none of the adults over the age of twenty years old at that time except for Caleb and Joshua entered the Promised Land. Their children entered Canaan without sharing the experience with their parents.

The adults had forgotten the miracles performed by God for them in Egypt. When they were encouraged to take that last step of faith and enter the land, the people refused to move forward because they were afraid. The problem is that they left God out of the equation, and don’t we so often do that? Like the Israelites, our spiritual memories are short. We see the circumstances, we see the trials, we see the tests, and we forget about God. Similarly, we draw our conclusions and make decisions based on what we can see and can understand rather than based on the power and promises of our heavenly Father.

As Caleb and Joshua remembered the strength of our God, we also need to realize that God is ALWAYS at work in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. He is all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful, and all-wise. Regardless of how life looks or feels, we can trust God is working in the middle of the mess. That is seeing life through a spiritual lens. When we walk by faith, our view becomes smaller and less significant, and God’s promises become more real to us. We begin to believe deeply that God is at work even if we cannot see it. Our loving Lord is very busy in the background. This same God who saved the Israelites from the ten plagues, parted the Red Sea for them, helped Caleb and Joshua enter the Promise Land, and raised Jesus from the dead is at work in your life and the lives of your loved ones. Trust Him!

God of power and might, we desire to be like Joshua and Caleb who acknowledged there were giants much larger than themselves, walls much taller than expected, and their own abilities much weaker in comparison, BUT what they knew was that You were and are bigger than the enemy. They focused on your greatness, and they spoke with faith. We aspire to do the same. Amen.