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Then I remembered the story of Joshua and Caleb as they stood on the borders of the Promise Land. There are five principles we can learn from this story that will help us “stop going around in circles”, feeling like our lives are going nowhere. These principles can help us identify the steps we can take to obtain God’s blessings for our lives.
1.Taste God’s grapes (God’s blessings) (Numbers 13:23, 24).
God helped them to take a cluster of grapes and other fruit from the land, giving them a taste of his future blessings for their lives. Rather than getting confused and discouraged with your life, taste the “grapes” (the small but sweet blessings) God has given you or placed in your life (Psalm 34:8; 27:13, 14). This could be a friend, a family member, a co-worker, a job, a church family, health and strength and many other small but precious blessings. Recognizing the small blessings of God will pull you forward into your future blessings.
2.Change what you think about yourself (Numbers 13:33).
They saw themselves as grasshoppers. Self-perception and self-image is critical to success. You are to the world what you believe about yourself and how you present yourself. You will always be afraid to go forth into God’s blessings, and problems will always crush you if you see yourself as a grasshopper. We must see ourselves the way God sees us. Remember, you were skillfully and wonderfully made by God (Psalm 139:13, 14). Through faith in Christ, you are or can be new. Old feelings of guilt, shame, shyness, and poor self-esteem can be gone. In Christ, all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
3.Believe in your ability (Numbers 13:30; 14:9).
You are well able. You are able not in your own strength but because God is with you. Don’t be afraid, discouraged and decide to give up because of what seems are giant-sized problems (little education, no money, a baby to take care of, nowhere to live, no transporta-tion, etc.). All these problems can be overcome. You are not alone. God is with you. Also, God will put the right people in your life who will help you get to his blessings for you.
