In this chapter, which is really part 1 of 2, God commands 12 spies to be sent into Canaan (the promised land) to asses the land and its inhabitants.
“Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, ‘Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not.’ At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they told him, ‘We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.’ ” (v17-20a,25-28,31b abr)
These pessimists (or realists, depending on your perspective) nay-say the invasion of Canaan plan. Well, not all of them do. Twelve men are sent (one from each tribe except Levi) and ten of them say it can’t be done. “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.’ ” (v31)
The ten men have the same limited vision that many of us (myself included) will have today. On more than one occasion I have found myself saying (or at least thinking) “I/we cannot do this”. The wisdom of the world awards this “realism” as being “prudent”, however, when we’re applying that reasoning to something God has requested, “prudence” becomes “disobedience” and “doubt”.
Even Jesus didn’t try to do things “on His own strength”: “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.” (Jn 5:30-32)
If Jesus Himself had to rely on God the Father for His strength, identity, wisdom and guidance, then of course we can’t accomplish much on our own, and we don’t need to be ashamed.
What I propose is to stop using the phrase “i/we can’t…”, and exchange it with the phrase “We can…”. To clarify, I lower-cased the first phrase and capitalized the second phrase on purpose – I’m signalling that “i/we can’t…” is attempting something on our own strength without God, and “We can…” is accomplishing something with God (even if I’m “alone”, “We” can be God and I together, hence the plural).
We can move mountains. We can reconcile relationships. We can unite nations. We can invade Canaan. i/we can’t do those things (even with an army), but We can do all things with God who strengthens us and calls us according to His purposes. So what are We waiting for?
Father God, creator and ruler of this universe, hallowed is Your name. You are high and mighty, unstoppable in all that You say and do. We humbly ask for Your help today. We are lowly and weak, and can accomplish nothing on our own – all that we have (our strength, wisdom, energy) is from You. Please uphold us in Your righteous right hand, and guide us through life’s battles – be our God and we will be Your people. We fully surrender to Your will and leading, and know that in doing so We will be unstoppable. All honor, praise and glory be to You, for Your kingdom which is being built here on earth and in heaven. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training