“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
“But the whole assembly talked about stoning them.”
Today, we have certainly seen people gathered in crowds protesting and marching, and so on. Oftentimes, the crowd is united against something or fighting for a cause. They say there is strength in numbers, and they would be right. As I was driving to work, I was reminded of Caleb and Joshua when they got back from spying out the land. You can almost see the entire nation of Israel on the brink of marching into the land flowing with milk and honey, just waiting for the spies to get back and give a report. Twelve went out, and only two, Joshua and Caleb, were confident in the direction the Lord was leading them.
The ten spoke and confirmed all the good things of the land, but also confirmed the giants and fortified cities in the land. Caleb could see all this going the wrong way and spoke up in verse 30 and “silenced the people.”
We are often going through life in a crowd, surrounded by our friends or coworkers. Because we are with them, the group sees life and the struggles of life in a similar way, kind of like the report of the good things and obstacles in the land the Lord was leading the Israelites into. We dream about all the milk and honey we can see, but fear takes over, and the obstacles of life seem to crowd out the good with the impossible. The other ten spies saw everything Joshua and Caleb saw. In fact, they all agreed on every point, even down to the giants and fortified cities. Joshua and Caleb were not blind to the obstacles; they just had a very different view of who the Lord was than the other ten.
You have to be strong in the Lord enough to stand up against the crowd. The Bible says that the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Boldness in the face of obstacles larger than life is where God shows up. I have heard you should work or fight like it is all up to you, and pray like it is all up to God. In other words, get to know your God. Read the Bible and see how God works. Joshua and Caleb surely remembered the mighty things the Lord did back in Egypt, this is why he was so confident in verse 30, saying, “We should go up and take possession of the land.”
What faces you in your life that seems larger than you have the strength to defeat? It is time you stand up and speak against the crowd. Let the joy of the Lord be your strength. Walk in His light and in the power of His might, and you can take possession of the land the crowd says is too hard and too tough.
Prayer: Father, I pray that we stand on the promises of your word. I pray that we recite with our mouths your word and the testimonies of your saints in times when we are discouraged. I pray that Godly men and women will stand in the gap for us when we are out of strength and proclaim the good and mighty deeds of the Lord, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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