Seeing Giants or Seeing God’s Promise

The Spies’ Report

Numbers 13 tells us that Moses sent twelve men to explore the land God had promised. They walked its valleys, touched its soil, and even carried back fruit so large it took two men to lift a single cluster of grapes. The land was everything God had said it would be, a place flowing with milk and honey.

But when the spies returned, their voices divided. Ten men spoke with trembling lips: “We cannot attack those people; they are stronger than we are” (Numbers 13:31). Fear grew louder than God’s promise. “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:33).

Yet Caleb rose with a different spirit. He quieted the crowd and declared, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30).

The land was the same. The giants were the same. God was the same. What differed was the perspective.

When Fear Rewrites the Story

Moses later reminded the people in Deuteronomy 1:26–27, “But you were unwilling to go up. You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You grumbled in your tents and said, ‘The Lord hates us, so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.’”

They forgot the Red Sea parting behind them. They forgot the manna that fell fresh every morning. They forgot how God had carried them through the wilderness as a father carries his child (Deuteronomy 1:31).

Fear has a way of rewriting the story. It blinds us to God’s faithfulness and convinces us that the obstacles ahead are greater than the One who goes before us.

Choosing Faith Over Fear

Caleb and Joshua stood firm. They did not deny the giants, but they refused to let the giants define the future. Joshua said, “If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us” (Numbers 14:8–9).

Years later, when Caleb finally stood in the land God had promised, he could still say, “I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly” (Joshua 14:8). His faith had carried him where fear never could.

A Framework for Facing Your Giants

What about you? Where do you see giants standing tall in your life right now?

1. Name Your Giant
The ten spies named theirs: fortified cities, powerful armies, and people who made them feel small (Numbers 13:28–29). Be honest about what intimidates you.

2. Remember God’s Faithfulness
Moses reminded the people, “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you” (Deuteronomy 1:30). Look back at your own Red Sea moments. Write them down. They are proof of His promise.

3. Choose Whose Report You Believe
Ten said “we cannot.” Two said “we can.” Which voice are you giving more weight to right now?

4. Step in Faith, Not Certainty
God never asked for certainty. He asked for trust. Joshua said, “The Lord is with us” (Numbers 14:9). That is enough for your next step.

5. Hold Fast Wholeheartedly
Like Caleb, let it be said of you, “I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly” (Joshua 14:8). Wholehearted faith silences fear.

Closing Reflection

You may not get to choose whether giants appear in your story, but you do get to choose how you see them. You can magnify the size of the giant, or you can magnify the size of your God.

This is not about perfection. It is about permission. Permission to step forward, even when fear shakes your knees. Permission to believe that the same God who split seas and dropped manna is the same God who will lead you into promise.

“Do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you” (Deuteronomy 1:29–30).