Can anyone doubt that we have big problems, systemic problems? War in Europe and inflation at home, escalating Federal debts and deficits, too many jobs going unfilled, crumbling infrastructure, schools more concerned with sex and gender issues than with basic literacy – the list goes on and on. And let’s face it: if there were easy solutions within reach, we would have implemented them long ago.

The ancient Israelites faced a similar dilemma. For they stood on the edge of the land God had promised to give them, ready to receive their inheritance. But the land was already full of people, living in well-defended cities, who would doubtless resist any effort to evict them. Oh, and to make matters worse, there were giants who stood in their way, for the sons of Anak were incredibly tall compared to other men of their generation. No matter how numerous and well-organized the Israelites may have been, without any military training or experience, it seemed impossible for them to conquer the Promised Land.

And after travelling through that Land for forty days, that’s exactly the conclusion that ten of the twelve Israelite spies reached: “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us” (13:31). And in the face of our political and economic difficulties, not to mention the pain and grief and temptations each of us face every single day, maybe you’ve reached a similar point of despair.

But two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, gave a different report. No, they didn’t deny the difficulties that they faced. But they reminded the people of something we all need to remember, no matter how great our challenges may be: “If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us” (14:8). In short, because God can do what is impossible for His people, the only thing that really matters is our relationship with God.

And so the same choice faces all of us, both collectively and individually: whom will we believe? Will we continue to look at our problems only through the lens of our own reason and experience and ability? If so, we’ll never find any answers. And just as the generation who rejected the Promised Land died in the wilderness, if we remain disconnected from Christ, the only true source of light and life and truth, we can expect nothing more.

But if we trust in the Lord as Caleb and Joshua did, if we surrender our wills to His and do what He says, no matter how difficult or bewildering His commands may seem, we can be sure of victory. For can anything be too difficult for the Lord Who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and Who broke the bonds of sin and death through the cross and the empty tomb of Christ? Can any walled city or giant, any inflation or war, any addiction or besetting sin, any grief or pain possibly be a match for Him?

Numbers 14:1-10, 22-25 (NASB)

Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.
2 And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
3 “And why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
4 So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.
6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;
7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.
8 “If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it to us– a land which flows with milk and honey.
9 “Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they shall be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.”
10 But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

22 “Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs, which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,
23 shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it.
24 “But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.
25 “Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”