The account of Moses sending twelve men to search out the promise land for subsequent possession is an interesting and instructive one. Here you have the children of Israel having journeyed for forty years towards the Promised Land. They get to the wilderness of Paran and Moses is instructed by God to send rulers to go search out the Land (Numbers 13:1-2). On their return ten of the rulers came back with an evil report but Caleb (a ruler with a different perspective) stilled the people and said, “let us go up at once and possess it for we were well able to overcome it!”
Numbers 13:30-33
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 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.
From the evil report of these rulers it is clear that they had become so intimidated by what they saw that they were no longer making sense. In verse 32 they said “…a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.” I have a question for the 10 rulers; if the land eats up its inhabitants, then you should see no man on it. You see, fear has a way of exaggerating the facts and minimizing your capacity until you are intimidated by your challenges. I believe God is raising you as a ruler in an area he has set you apart for. But as one called and ordained to have dominion over the works of God’s hands you cannot afford to be impressed by challenges. Challenges reveal what you are really made of. Up until this time all twelve of them were classified as rulers, but their response to what they saw in the land separated the ten from the two. The 10 had already lost the war (in their minds) long before the first stone was hurled.
Do not let your economy affect your psychology. There is abundant evidence that success is underpinned by a certain mindset. Victory consciousness precedes winning. I am yet to find a winner who thinks like a loser. And when I find one I will embark on a search to find a loser who thinks like a winner. Your limitations in life can be traced to your perception and perspective. What you see (not what there is) will determine your response, and your response will determine your future. Take a hold of your mind and feed it with the unadulterated Word of God until the very thoughts of God become your thoughts. Friends, things are not always as they seem. This is why how you see is critical to your outcome in life. Take a hold of your new status in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:6) and allow the Word of God to develop your new self-concept. You are well able to overcome every adversity.
Rule and subdue the earth for God!
