{"id":3038,"date":"2026-05-21T14:32:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/?page_id=3038"},"modified":"2026-05-21T14:32:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:32:38","slug":"living-eyes-up","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/living-eyes-up\/","title":{"rendered":"LIVING EYES UP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Living Eyes Up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numbers 13 and 14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several years ago, I arranged a meeting between my oldest son, Jonathan, and a very successful entrepreneur in our city. At the time, Jonathan was still in high school and beginning to think about his future. He had shown some interest in business and leadership, and I thought it might be helpful for him to sit down with someone who had built something, led well, and could speak into his life from experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My hope was that maybe this would become the beginning of a mentoring relationship. As the conversation began, I mostly sat back and listened. What stood out to me was that this leader didn\u2019t begin by talking about money, strategy, business plans, or career paths. He started with something deeper. He asked questions that revealed Jonathan\u2019s vision, attitude, outlook, and perspective. Before he talked to him about what he wanted to do, he wanted to understand how he saw life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one point, he looked at my son and said, \u201cJonathan, in this life, you usually find what you\u2019re looking for.\u201d<\/strong> (While that was meant for my son, it hit me hard. And, I\u2019ve never forgotten it!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went on to explain that the way we see life often shapes the way we experience life. If we\u2019re constantly looking for what\u2019s wrong, we\u2019ll find it. If we\u2019re always searching for what\u2019s missing, broken, disappointing, or frustrating, we won\u2019t have to look very long. There\u2019s always something that could discourage us. There\u2019s always some problem, some burden, or some reason to lower our expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the opposite is also true. If we\u2019re looking for the hand of God, we\u2019ll begin to notice His faithfulness. If we\u2019re watching for His goodness, we\u2019ll begin to see evidence of His grace. If we\u2019re listening for hope, we\u2019ll begin to hear more than the noise of fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That conversation has stayed with me because it speaks to one of the defining choices of faith: will we let what we see determine what we believe, or will we let what God has spoken shape how we see?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why Numbers 13 and 14<\/strong> is so powerful. Israel is standing at the edge of promise. God has delivered them from Egypt, brought them through the Red Sea, provided for them in the wilderness, and proven His faithfulness again and again. But when the spies return from Canaan, the people have to decide which report they will believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will they focus on the giants, or will they trust the God who brought them this far?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s still the question for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we only look for giants, we\u2019ll miss the fruit of the promise. If we only rehearse what could go wrong, we\u2019ll struggle to recognize where God is already working. But faith lifts its eyes and says, \u201cGod is still good. God is still faithful. God is still able. And the God who brought me this far can lead me forward from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 121 <\/strong>gives us the posture of faith, as the writer says: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI lift up my eyes\u2026\u201d<\/em> – Psalm 121:1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the heart of this message. We\u2019re not called to live eyes down, always expecting the worst. We\u2019re called to live eyes up, watching for the goodness of God. Hopeful, faith-filled, and confident that the God who has been faithful will be faithful again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transition:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve got your Bible, turn with me to the Old Testament <\/strong>book of Numbers<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Numbers 13:1\u20132<\/strong>, the Lord tells Moses to send men to explore the land of Canaan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to the way these verses tell the story. In verse 1<\/strong> it says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 <\/em><\/strong>\u201cThe Lord said to Moses, <\/em>2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cSend some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.\u201d<\/em> – Numbers 13:1-2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice again, this was the land He was giving to Israel. That detail matters!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They weren\u2019t exploring a possibility. They were surveying a promise!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God had already said the land was His gift to them. Their mission wasn\u2019t to decide whether God could accomplish what He promised. Their mission was to see the goodness of what God was bringing them into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Moses chooses twelve men, one leader from each tribe. Numbers 13:3<\/strong> tells us, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of them were leaders of the Israelites.\u201d<\/em> – Numbers 13:3<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That matters because their report would carry weight. What they saw, and how they shared what they saw, would help shape the faith, or the fear, of the entire congregation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For forty days, they explored the land. In Numbers 13:23<\/strong>, they came to the Valley of Eshkol <\/strong>and cut down a cluster of grapes so large it had to be carried on a pole between two men. They also brought back pomegranates and figs. In other words, the land was fruitful. The promise was good. God had not exaggerated. They were holding evidence that His Word could be trusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they return in Numbers 13:26\u201327<\/strong>, they begin with the truth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

27<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0They gave Moses this account: \u201cWe went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. <\/em>28<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. <\/em>29<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.\u201d<\/em> – Numbers 13:26\u201327<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, they began by telling Moses<\/strong>, Aaron<\/strong>, and the whole nation<\/strong> that the land really does flow with milk and honey, and they even show them the fruit they harvested along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in Numbers 13:28<\/strong>, they continue with one word that changed everything. They said, \u201cBut…\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n