Our "Ability" Depends on God, Not on Us

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭13‬:‭30‬-‭31‬, 33, ‭ESV‬‬

But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” … “And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

40 years later…

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭15‬:‭14‬, ‭ESV‬‬

And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the descendants of Anak.

Same men, same circumstances, two completely different conclusions. One looking at themselves, one looking at God.

The ones who said they couldn’t, didn’t.

The one who said they could, did.

Caleb did it—not because he somehow mustered up the strength within himself, but because he understood that his ability was measured by the ability of God.

The more the Israelites looked at their own ability, the bigger the enemy got.

But because Caleb kept his eyes on God’s ability, the smaller the enemy got.

What we magnify (make larger) will determine the outcomes of our life.

If we magnify the risk of the task ahead of us, we will live in the smallness of our comparison to it—and fear will dictate our inheritance on earth.

But if we magnify our God above the risk of the task ahead of us, we will live in the largeness of our faith—and faith will dictate our inheritance on earth.

Our “ability” to possess our promised land is measured according to the size of our God, not by us.