Identifying & Defeating the Real Opposition

Reading in Numbers 13 and 14, I see a great lesson for me to learn from the faith Joshua and Caleb. You'll recall they are the two spies sent into the land of Canaan by Moses.

The other 10 men were spiritual wimps, seeing only opposition, not opportunity. Joshua and Caleb saw with different eyes. In this story I am struck by the realization of what was the real opposition Joshua and Caleb faced.

Faced with a bad report from the 10, the people were quick to despair, grumbled, and wished they had died! Moses and Aaron fell on their face before their people.

But Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes -- a sign of grief, of horror. They realized the great opposition they faced, and it wasn't giants in the land! It was the spiritual midgets of their own people.

When they spoke to the Israelites, they told of how great the land was, then said, "If the Lord delights in us, He will bring us into this land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lor d is with us. Do not fear them."

There is much more to the story, but get this:

External circumstances (how big are the giants; how fortified are the cities) do not matter.
Only the favor (or disfavor) of the Lord matters!

Joshua and Caleb said "If the Lord delights in us" . . . "do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of their land, for they are our bread" . . . "their protection has departed from them" . . . "the Lord is with us."

If you KNOW Him. If you know you are on assignment from Him. Then all that matters is that His protection is ON you and thus not on anything that opposes you. God is not double-minded, two-faced. If He has instructed you, He will empower you. Look only at Him.

Note that Joshua and Caleb said that to fear the opposition was to "rebel against the Lord."

I can think of circumstances in my life and our families life where I am in danger of "rebeling against the Lord" by not believing that He will deliver to me what He has promised, or deliver me through what He has promised!

Our opposition -- sometimes people, sometimes circumstances -- often seems giant and well-fortified. When this is what you see, tighten up your relationship with the Lord, narrow your focus to Him.

Learn from Joshua and Caleb.