But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” (Numbers 13:30-33, NLT)
This year, I made it my goal to read through the entire Bible, Genesis to Revelation, something I have not done in a while. Today’s reading plan included chapters 11, 12 and 13 of the book of Numbers. When I read the last few verses of chapter 13, I recalled a post that I wrote in October 2017 and decided that I would share that post again today. Here it is:
In 1930, a now well-known illustrated children’s book was published called The Little Engine That Could. In this story, a very heavy train needs to be pulled up a steep hill. Several large and strong engines are asked to pull the train up the hill but, for various reasons, they say they are unable to do it. They look at the task they are being asked to do and decide that the train is too heavy, or the hill is too steep. Finally, a little engine is asked and replies, “I think I can.” The little engine begins to pull the train, slowly at first, then a little faster, until it makes it up and over the hill, exclaiming on the way down, “I thought I could!”
After being delivered from the hands of Pharaoh, the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness for over two years when they came to the wilderness of Paran. At God’s direction, Moses then sent out men from each of the twelve tribes of Israel to spy out the land that the Lord had promised them. This group of men spent forty days spying out the land and then returned to give their report. The land was as fruitful and beautiful as God had promised. But, all but two of the twelve men reported that there was no way that they could take this land. The land was filled with people who were stronger than the Israelites, people who lived in fortified cities (Numbers 13:27-28). And not only that, there also were giants in the land, giants who made these ten men feel like mere grasshoppers. And that’s how these men viewed themselves, as grasshoppers (Numbers 13:33). “There’s no way we can take this land,” they reported.
Is God calling you to a task that seems too difficult? Do you feel that you are not qualified to do what God has called you to do? God doesn’t call you because you are the most qualified person for a particular task. You may be weak, but He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). You may not be qualified, but He is, and He is with you every step of the way when you step out in faith. If David had felt that he was too small and too weak to defeat Goliath, who would have brought victory to the Israelites. If Peter had looked at the water and said, “Uh-uh! There’s no way I’m stepping out of this boat,” he would never have walked on water. If the apostles had said, “Hey, we’re just a group of fishermen, tax collectors, just ordinary people,” how would the early church have gotten its start?
When God calls us to something, He will give us all that we need to do it. Our job is to say yes and put our confidence in Him. Instead of saying, “I think I can,” like the little engine, we need to say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And, when that task is accomplished, our response should be, “I knew He could!”
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
A Worshiper's Journal 