The appearance that things have to us depends, to a great extent, upon the
way that we look at them. Sometimes our mental attitude toward them is
largely responsible for their appearance. Often two or more persons look
at the same thing, and each one sees something quite different from what
the others see. Persons who see the same thing will often have very
different stories to tell about it afterwards, and will be very
differently affected by what they see. This is not because their eyes
differ so much, but because their mental attitude affects the
interpretation of what they see.
A notable example of this is seen in the twelve spies sent by Moses to spy
out the land of Canaan. The Israelites had crossed the Red Sea. Their
enemies had been destroyed behind them. They had come at God’s command
almost to the borders of the Promised Land. Here the people camped while
the spies went to see the country. They passed through it and viewed the
land and the people, and presently came back with their report. It was a
wonderful land, they agreed, a land flowing with milk and honey. The
samples of the fruit they brought back were large and fine specimens. Of
course, the people were at once very eager to possess such a land, but the
question came up, _Are we able to do so?_ What kind of people are they
over there? Are they good fighters? Are they courageous? Do they have
strongly fortified cities? As soon as this question was broached, there
was a difference of opinion. Caleb said, “Let us go up at once, and
possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Num. 13: 30). The
others, however, did not agree with him, except Joshua. They said, “We be
not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we ...
and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there
we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were
in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (vs.
31-33).
Now, what made the difference in their views? They all saw the same
things; they all saw the same people; but when it came to telling of them,
they told very different stories. The difference must have lain in the men
themselves. When the ten saw those sons of Anak, they felt that they were
as grasshoppers in comparison with such giants. “Why, we amount to nothing
at all,” the ten spies thought. “Those great big fellows could walk right
over us.” And when they recalled their sensations, the land did not seem
so fine, either, and they said, “It is a land that eateth up the
inhabitants thereof.” They did not stop to consider that their own words
condemned them. How could a land be such a bad land and yet the people who
lived in it be so strong and so great?
Joshua and Caleb, however, were not to be frightened by the stories that
the others told. So they said, “The land, which we passed through to
search it, is an exceeding good land” (chap. 14: 7). They also held fast
their confidence in the ability of Israel to gain the land saying, “If the
Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us;
a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the
Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us:
their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us; fear them
not” (vs. 8, 9).
Now, all these men were probably honest. They probably described things
just as these appeared to them. What was the difference? The difference
was not in their eyes, but in that which was back of their eyes. When the
ten went through the land and saw the giants, they forgot all about God.
It was themselves against the giants, with God left out; and when we leave
God out, things look very different. How big those giants looked! “We poor
grasshoppers had better be getting out of here quickly. We do not stand
any show at all,” they thought. “How could Israel fight with such fellows,
anyway?” The ten were full of doubts, and they looked through their
doubts, and their doubts magnified the Anakim.
But Caleb and Joshua had no doubts. They had faith in God—faith that did
not waver. They remembered the Red Sea. They remembered the manna from
heaven. They remembered the other things that God had done. They looked at
the situation through their faith; and instead of feeling as if they were
grasshoppers, they felt themselves more than a match for the giants. The
two were not at all frightened. “Why,” they said, in effect, when they
came back, “they will be only bread for us. We shall just eat them up.
They have heard what God has done among us, and they are too scared to
fight. Their defense is departed from them.” Then these men of faith began
talking about the other side. “The Lord is with us; fear them not. What do
those fellows amount to, since God is not with them? What do their
fortresses amount to? Let us go up at once,” said they. “Why, we can whip
them with ease.”
But the people listened to both sides, and their ears heard; but instead
of listening through their faith to Joshua and Caleb, they listened
through their doubts to the ten and believed them and became very much
frightened; and in consequence they went to murmuring and complaining
because Moses had brought them out there to face such a situation. The
result was that they were turned back, defeated by their enemies, and had
to wander forty years in the wilderness until all the old ones perished.
Now, that is just the difference between faith and doubts. Looking back
from the present time, we can easily believe that God would have conquered
the land before them. Yes, we can believe that. We can see how foolish it
was for them to turn back and to be afraid and to murmur. That all looks
very plain to us now. We say, “How foolish and how full of unbelief they
were!” But the question is, Are we doing any better than they did? When we
look at the obstacles in our way, when we look at the troubles that seem
to be coming, when we look at the things that are before us, do we look
through faith, like Caleb and Joshua, or do we look through doubts, like
the ten? Do your trials and difficulties make you feel like a grasshopper?
Does it seem that you would surely be overwhelmed? Does it look as though
you could never get through, that you might as well give up? If so, you
are looking at things through your doubts just as the ten did.
The people who win, the people who are victorious are those who look at
things through their faith. They do not compare their troubles and trials
and difficulties with themselves; they compare these with God. They behold
God’s greatness. They behold the things that he has done in the past. They
see how he has helped others. They see that they have been helped in the
past, that God has stood right by them and helped them through. They get
their faith and their eyes working together, and then they can see a way
out of their difficulties, just as Caleb did. “They shall be bread for
us,” faith says. “No use to be afraid. Giants don’t count. What is a giant
beside God?” Doubts say, “Oh, what shall we do?” Faith takes a new grip on
its sword and says, “Come on; let’s go and conquer them.”
Your eyes are all right; they will see things all right, but the question
is, What is behind your eyes—doubts, or faith? That is the thing that
really counts. Doubts will magnify your troubles, will make them look very
great. Doubts will make your power look very small. They will make your
ability to fight look as nothing. They will make you feel like running or
surrendering. Faith will not work that way. It will fill you with courage;
it will put the song of victory in your heart. Get faith behind your eyes.
Look out by faith. Remember that God will fight your battles. Be strong
and of a good courage, and you will overcome your foes. But doubts will
spoil things for you. Doubts will take away what courage you have. Doubts
will ruin you if you let them. So get rid of your doubts. Look to God,
believe in him, trust in him, and the victory will be yours. Take your
stand with Caleb and Joshua. Do you remember what became of the spies? The
ten doubters died in the wilderness, and their bodies were left there; but
the two who had faith went on into the Promised Land and died full of
years and of honors.