From the series Strength and Courage
In Numbers 13, Joshua is a young leader when he is tasked along with 11 other men to go and report what they see in the Promised Land. All twelve men see a land of powerful enemies, fortified cities, and giants alongside of abundant fruit and endless resources, but only Joshua and Caleb return with a positive report. The other ten men express fear and concern at the enemies and obstacles they see and they are overwhelmed by all that could go wrong. As the ten express their concerns to the assembly, they continue to fuel their fear by what they choose to focus on in the land. They bring back a report exclaiming that “we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes.” Their focus remains on their fear, and Joshua and Caleb quickly silence them before they get too far down that script by reminding the people that with God, they can certainly face whatever stands before them. Joshua and Caleb remain resolute to trust God’s faithfulness and His promises for His people, calling the assembly to do the same. And what we see through the leadership of Joshua, is that strength and courage for the journey ahead was forged in faithfulness. Because by faith we learn to trust the promises of God when the plan doesn’t always make sense.
