Scripture
Numbers 13:28-30-"But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. 'Let’s go at once to take the land,' he said. 'We can certainly conquer it!'"
Mark 2:4,5-"They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 'My child, your sins are forgiven.'"
Observation
The Children of Israel had been wandering in the desert for many years before God instructed Moses to send 12 men to spy out the promised land. The 12 were selected and sent for 40 days to observe and gather information. They saw giant fruit many times larger than anything they had ever seen, but they also saw walled and fortified cities and giants from the tribe of Anak. When they returned to the Israelites 10 of them reported that they should not try to take the land because they would be slaughtered, but 2 of them, Caleb and Joshua, said that they would certainly win because God is with them. God blessed the 2 for understanding His plan and they went on to lead the entire tribe in the future.
I can’t help but wonder what my report would have been if I had been amongst the spies or if I was one of the friends carrying the crippled man to Jesus would I have been willing to make a scene by digging through the roof to lower him down to the Master. These are issues of boldness and faith. Do I really believe that God can and will perform miracles and do the impossible? Often, I will base my decisions on whether I can control the situation or I can get the job done, but what I should be thinking is whether God can do it.
Application
Of course, the Israelites couldn’t defeat the tribes in the promised land, Caleb and Joshua were dreamers – dreamers for God. The friends who brought their disabled friend to see Jesus and climbed up on the roof were crazy – crazy for God! I must be crazier and more of a dreamer for God. God isn’t limited by my short-comings, He wants people of faith. Joshua, Caleb, and those friends had faith, faith that preceded God’s miracles. I want to see miracles and revival and I want my faith to proceed those miracles.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Please forgive me for the times that I have failed You through my sin or my lack of faith. I want to live with boldness in my witness and my faith. I want to be more like Caleb, Joshua and the friends that saw their friend healed because of their boldness. Please help me to live a life that represents You well. In Jesus' name, Amen.
