YM DEVO: Perception is everything
“We don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are.” ~Anais Nin
What happened in the passage below really leads into an opportunity to not only examine who we are but also who we believe God is. Take a few minutes to read the passage below and process through the questions.
Read Numbers 13:1 – 14:12
- Who went to spy out the land?
- What was reported by the spies?
- Did Caleb and Joshua agree with this assessment? What was there response?
- What was the response of the people? Of God?
- What ultimately happened to the the spies? Caleb and Joshua? (Numbers 14:36-38)
Perception is everything, not only in how we perceive ourselves, but more importantly how we view God. The 10 other spies perceived God to NOT be strong enough. They perceived God NOT be able to overcome anything. They perceived God as NOT being able to provide. But Caleb and Joshua perceived God to be the exact opposite. They knew they couldn’t do it by themselves. BUT, they believed God could do all those things, because of His calling to take the land and because of how faithful he was to the Israelites in the past.
So the question remains, who are you most like, the 10 or the 2? I don’t know what is going on in your life or ministry, but our PERCEPTION of who God is plays a huge role in what we accomplish as a person and as a ministry. Do we really believe in the promises of God or is does our perception limit what God can and will do? If we do, what are we doing about it?
TAKE A MINUTE right now and prayerfully examine your perception of God. God is great and mighty and can do all things. And, as Paul says in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” With this being known, what is God trying to tell you to do? What land is he trying to tell you to take?
There are opportunities out there waiting for us to take with God leading us. But if we act like the 10 and limit God’s abilities, we’ll never be able to fully realize all the great things God has in store for us. So, let’s go and be like Caleb and Joshua, believing God can and will do what he promises us and let HIM guide us.
