Numbers 13:30-33 (ESV)

Originally published 08/18/2015

The people of Israel were trying to decide whether or not they should try to invade Canaan, which God promised to give to them. "But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, 'Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.' Then the men who had gone up with him said, 'We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.' So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, 'The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them'" Numbers 13:30--33 (ESV). There are two kinds of reality, rational reality and spiritual reality. Both reports were true. The military evaluation was accurate, but God said if you do what I tell you I will empower your victory. It is hard to convince people to act against rational reality by telling them to turn the other cheek, forgive people, tithe and give what God tells you to give. Being a follower of Christ is a decision to trust spiritual reality over rational reality. Lord, help me to live as if every promise you make in the Bible is the truth.


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