Numbers 13:26-33 WE ARE ABLE Most of the life of a child of God will be spent going uphill when other people go down; will be going in while others are coming out; will be contrary to popular opinion. Is this the way it is supposed to be? Are we to be comfortable in the middle of those who have no place for God in their lives? Are those who blaspheme the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, welcome companions of those who have been "crucified with Christ" unto the world? Faith in God, and popularity with those who measure life by what they see, own or want, cannot get along well together. Living by faith begins with putting our confidence in God first, and then dealing with the difficulties that inevitably will arise. The flesh looks at difficulties first and then calls on God to take the difficulties away. Faith goes through the difficulties confidently following the leading of the Lord. Unbelief waits and waits for the difficulties to go away - and if they don't, blames God.
The ten men who said, "We are not able," did not have one word to say about God. They saw the bountiful land of promise, but what took their attention were the strong, walled cities, and the giants who lived there. They forgot the promises of God and the power of God. In fact, they forgot about God entirely. They measured themselves as grasshoppers and in their unbelieving minds, brought God Himself down to no more than a grasshopper like themselves. This attitude toward God still prevails today. To many people, God is only an idea or a word to use when threatening others.
To those who are the people of God and are committed to living by faith, they move ahead in spite of difficulties. If the road before us that takes us to the promises of God leads us into difficulties, people who live by faith move confidently through them following the Lord. This does not mean we are indifferent or ignorant of the problems we face, but our trust is in the living God who has led us this way. When one has to stand up against popular opinion or the crowd, and be effective, that person must know what God's intention is and be able to identify it. The right attitude toward God and toward the problems of life keeps one humble without any vestige of arrogance and pride. To be able to state clearly what we know, and what we believe, draws a line between a person of faith and persons of fear.
An evil report doesn't mean that which was said was necessarily wrong, but was making their own judgment of the situation without considering the power of God that was fully able to accomplish His purpose for them. They were taking God's things into their own hands and ignoring God Himself. To ever discount or in any way ignore and reject the counsel of God is evil of the worst kind. Actually, unbelief is a soul-damning sin. To shut God out of human affairs, whether it be in a nation, an assembly, a family or a person's personal life, will assure failure, loss and condemnation. To give voice to one's opinion, right or wrong, has serious and lasting consequences. The opinions of ten men brought death on a whole generation of people. There was no way they could escape it.
On the other hand, the voice of faith and confidence, brought blessing to Caleb and Joshua and their families. Out of a whole nation of millions of people, only "few there be that find it," entered the land of promise. Choices made, decisions and actions that accompany those choices have great benefit, and bring blessing to others when they are made in faith. To on-lookers, the people of God seem odd, and their opinions and actions, unrealistic. "That doesn't make sense." "Be real." "That isn't realistic," are comments made to those who live by faith. It is a wise person who has learned to trust God in spite of what others say, and act on what they know is right. Caleb was affected by the decision of the majority, so for thirty-eight more years, he had to attend funerals and wait until the reality of the report was made evident.
Even when there are great losses and the impact of other's choices affect us, we need to continue to live daily by faith in God knowing that faith pleases Him. We may not see the result of a matter in our lifetime. We need to continue on faithfully, assured that "God is able" to do whatever is His will, and through His power "we are able."