I recently brought home the best grapes that I had ever eaten. First, they were the biggest grapes that I had ever seen. In addition, they were just the way that I like them – crisp and sweet. As I enjoyed them, I was reminded of the journey of the Israelites to the Promised Land. God made an Abrahamic covenant to three generations of people, namely Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The promise would involve land, many descendants and blessings from the Lord.
As the Israelites journeyed to the Promised Land, the Lord instructed Moses to send scouts to the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, to survey the land and catch a glimpse of the blessings that would be a part of their future. The Lord commanded Moses to send a leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes to explore Canaan.
The leaders from each tribe explored the Promised Land. The leaders had the opportunity to survey the land and the people currently living there. How was the land? Was the soil fertile or poor? Were the people strong or weak? Over the course of forty days, the scouts from each ancestral tribe would discover it all.
The scouts saw that the Promised Land was indeed a land flowing with “milk and honey.” They saw clusters of grapes so big that two poles were needed to carry back the cluster of grapes that had been cut off to be brought back as evidence. Upon their return, the scouts shared their assessment of the Promised Land. It was, indeed, a land of fertile soil and the scouts showed the evidence of the fruit they had seen.
While the scouts were able to determine that the Promised Land was a land of “milk and honey,” they also offered a report about the people of the land. The majority reported to Moses, Aaron and the the Israelite community that, despite the fact that the Promised Land offered fertile soil, the people living there were large in stature and powerful. Most of the scouts were fearful of and intimidated by the people residing in the Promised Land. These scouts reported back to everyone that there was no way they would be able to possess the land in light of the size of the people already residing there.
With the exception of Caleb and Joshua, all of the scouts succumbed to the perception that they were unable to takeover the Promised Land, spreading a negative report to the Israelite community. They said:
“The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
~ Numbers 13-32-33 NIV
As a result of their lack of faith and subsequent rebellion, the ten scouts aside and the Israelite community would go on to experience God’s judgment, wandering in the wilderness for forty years for a trek that would have taken approximately eleven days to complete. Only Caleb and Joshua would be spared from God’s judgment. In addition, the ten scouts and the whole Israelite community twenty years of age or older would not see the Promised Land. The blessing of the Promised Land would instead be experienced by the descendents of those who had rebelled.
God had demonstrated His faithfulness to the Israelites on numerous occasions. Yet, despite this, the Israelites allowed their perception of the size of the inhabitants of the Promised Land to overshadow God’s promises. I, too, was reminded of those times when I allowed by my faith to be overcome by doubt and fear. Rather than trust God wholeheartedly, I gave in to the negative dialogue in my mind – that something was not possible, that I was not good enough or some other disempowering thought.
I was reminded that perception in what one thinks and speaks is everything. Two powerful scriptures about this come to mind. As the Bible says:
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” ~ Proverbs 23:7 NKJV
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those that love it will eat its fruit.” ~ Proverbs 18:21 NIV
Whenever I fall into the trap of negative perceptions and disempowering thoughts, I have learned to practice turning to God instead. Three strategies that I employ, in particular, are:
1) PRAYER – I speak to God about what I’m thinking and feeling. I turn to the One who has the ability to impact my thought life, which in turn impacts my speaking and my actions. Prayer is powerful and impactful. Prayer changes things! God wants to meet me and you exactly where we are with whatever we are thinking, perceiving or facing.
2) MEDITATION – I meditate on what God says about me rather than what I may be saying about myself. God’s perspective of us is always higher than ours. As Scripture reminds us:
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.”
~ 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
~ Psalm 139:14 NIV
3) WORSHIP/PRAISE – Through worship and praise, I am able to better align with God’s higher vision and perspective of me and who God is calling me to be. Worship and praise cultivate an atmosphere of thanksgiving and Godly alignment. When my eyes are fixed on Christ, I don’t have time to be fixed on any limiting perceptions of myself or my capabilities.
How about you? What are some of the ways that you silence negative perceptions and disempowering thoughts? I’d love to hear. Please share!