Through the Eyes of Faith

“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.’"—Numbers 13:30

Faith. There is no Christianity without faith. And faith is the very thing that most of us have difficulty with. We are a lot like Peter, who while walking on water, stayed walking on water as long as he kept his eye on Jesus. But as soon as he took his eye off of Jesus and began looking at the waves around him, started to sink. Peter truly exemplified the statement, “walk by faith, not by sight” (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:7).

What is faith? Faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”—Hebrews 11:1. It is impossible to please God without faith, as the author of Hebrews wrote, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him”—Hebrews 11:6.

In the Old Testament, Caleb is a great example of faith. After Israel had come out of slavery in Egypt and were preparing to enter the Promised Land, Moses sent twelve spies to check out the land and then report back. After forty days, ten of the spies returning giving a less than favorable report saying,

“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. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan"—Numbers 13:27-29.

Such a response to a fledgling nation invoked fear not faith. But not so with Caleb, he saw their circumstance through the eyes faith saying, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” He didn’t see the problems, but the potential. He wanted to conquer the Promised Land. He had seen how God had wrought the plagues upon Egypt and how He had brought them out of the most powerful nation on earth. For him, if God could part the Red Sea and drown Pharaoh’s army, then this wouldn’t be a problem. He knew that with God all things are possible.

But the other ten spies didn’t have his faith. They said,

“The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them”—Numbers 13:32-33.

Seeing their lack of faith, Caleb and Joshua tore their clothes (a sign of great sorrow and anguish), and said,  

“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them"—Numbers 14:7-9.

How did the people respond? The picked up stones to kill Joshua and Caleb (cf. Numbers 14:10), but the glory of God appeared and God said to Moses,

“How long will this people despise Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they"—Numbers 14:11-12.

Sadly, Scripture tells us that the nation was punished for their lack of faith, forced to wander in the wilderness for forty years, one year for every day the spies spied out the land until all of the adults of that generation died (cf. Numbers 14:33-35).

As we think about the Israelite’s lack of faith and Caleb’s eyes of faith, we must ask ourselves two questions: Do I let my circumstances dictate my faith? Or do I let my faith dictate my circumstances? The first question is where most of us live, but the second is where God desires us to be. God wants us to have faith, to trust in Him, and take steps of faith in accordance with His word in order that He might receive glory. By believing in Him and living the faith-filled life, others see the reality of Christ in us lived out in every day life and are drawn to Him accordingly.

Where is your faith? Are you letting your circumstances dictate your faith or are you letting your faith dictate your circumstances? May God enable us all to see life and our circumstances through the eyes of faith taking the necessary steps in accordance with His word so that He might receive glory and we might receive joy. Amen.