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Are you at a place in your life journey right now that you believe God is telling you to do one thing, but the obstacles ahead just seem too overwhelming? Are your eyes of faith saying one thing, but your eyes of fear are saying another?
Eyes of fear will always look up at the obstacles from man’s perspective; eyes of faith will always look down at the obstacles from God’s perspective. Eyes of fear will always gaze out from under the circumstances; eyes of faith will always look over the circumstances in light of God’s promises. Eyes of fear will always be blinded by the visible; eyes of faith will always be illuminated by the unseen assurance of God.
Twelve men were sent ahead to explore the land. Ten of those men returned with a compelling argument against entering the land: “The people are stronger than we are. We are like grasshoppers compared to them. If we go there, the land will swallow us up. It would be better for us if we went back to Egypt.”(1)
Joshua and Caleb saw the exact same things that the other men had seen. They all had seen the richness of the land. They saw the size of the people and the strength of their fortifications. But what the majority saw as giants, the minority saw as prey; and what the majority saw as obstacles that could not be overcome, the minority saw as opportunities for God to demonstrate His power. The majority saw their defenses; the minority saw their vulnerability. So what caused the majority and the minority to see different things when they were looking at the exact same things? It was the eyes through which they were looking. The majority looked through the eyes of fear, and the minority through the eyes of faith.(2)
The report of the eyes of faith will all too often be the minority report. Our propensity – a characteristic of our flesh nature – will always be to look ahead strictly through eyes of fear. We pride ourselves on our seasoned objectivity, our pragmatism and our “feet-firmly-planted-on-the-ground” common sense, when in fact, what we need is an uncommon sense that comes from ears attuned to God’s voice, hearts and hands willing to do His bidding, and feet willing to follow Him wherever He leads.
Let’s face it, was it common sense that led Noah to invest 100 years in the construction of a big boat in the middle of dry land in preparation for a flood in a place that had never seen rain? Was it pragmatism that prompted Abraham to pack up his family and his possessions and leave their home in Haran when he had absolutely no idea where he was going? Was it seasoned objectivity that prompted Peter, Andrew, James and John to leave their successful fishing businesses to follow the penniless son of a carpenter?
In each instance there would have been a majority report that said these men were crazy. I can hear it now, “Peter, it’s one thing to have your head in the clouds, but plant your feet on the ground, man, you have a family to think about.” Or how about another familiar moment in history – the Israelite army is trembling before a giant that is too big to fight, when up steps a shepherd boy who sees the giant as too big to miss? God’s call on our lives to step out in faith will be a call to step out of the majority into the minority. It is a call from the mainstream to the “faith-stream”.
Caleb and Joshua were severely criticized by the majority for the position they took. As a matter of fact, the community began to talk about stoning them. But these men never once backed away from their stand of faith. They never once compromised their conviction. And they never once doubted the promise of God.
As a result of their faithfulness, and as a result of their courageous obedience, those two men were the only two out of over 600,000 men to survive the forty-year wandering and enter the Promised Land. The critics of the minority report all perished in the wilderness; only these two experienced the blessings of the land of milk and honey. The writer of Hebrews writes, “So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that there is a God and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”(3) God was displeased with the majority report, but He rewarded these two. God is a Rewarder of those who walk by faith.
So as you explore what lies ahead in your path, are the obstacles too great for God to overcome? Does the land seem too far off for God to be able to get you there? Does the journey seem too difficult for God to enable you to endure? Does any of it make any sense apart from the promise that you know God has given you? Don’t use your common sense; use the uncommon sense God has given you. Standing with the minority will require faith and courage. It will require a reliance that what God has promised He will bring about! Look through the eyes of faith God has given you and see the land ahead in light of His promise. He will reward your faithfulness.
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This post is adapted from The Wandering Years chapter 19, entitled “The Minority Report.” This second book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print or for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy of the book.
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(2) Numbers 14:6-9
(3) Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)
Copyright © 2022 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
Photo: View of the Promised Land from atop Mt. Nebo