Unbelief turns days to years

If I asked you whether you remember the story of the twelve spies who went to check out the promised land, you would immediately say yes. But if I asked you who sent them, your first answer would probably be that God told Moses to send them in Numbers 13. And yes, the chapter begins that way… but that’s not the full story. Because when Moses retells this same event in Deuteronomy 1, he says something very different. He says the people themselves came to him and said, “Let us send men before us to search out the land.” The idea began with them—born out of hesitation, out of fear. Moses agreed to it and God permitted it. But permission is not the same as God’s intention. Sometimes God allows what we choose, not because it comes from faith, but because it reveals what is hiding inside our heart.

The spies went, all twelve of them, one from each tribe. They walked the same land, tasted the same fruit, saw the same giants and the same cities. Yet they saw the goodness of the land but not of the Lord. Ten came back

talking about defeat, but two—Joshua and Caleb—spoke with confidence, not because the land looked easier, but because their God looked greater. Joshua carried what God later called a “different spirit,” the kind that refuses to shrink even when everything around you looks bigger than you.

And tucked quietly inside the chapter is a detail most of us skip over: Numbers 13:22 says Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. That small line is a reminder that God’s covenant places are older, deeper, and more enduring than the powers we fear. Zoan represented Egypt’s strength and man-made authority. Hebron represented promise and covenant. Even the fruit they carried back—grapes, pomegranates, and figs—matched exactly what God promised in Deuteronomy 8:8 (Abundance, Peace and Life). The proof was in their hands, but unbelief was in their hearts.

And unbelief has a cost. Right after reading till now, ask yourself a simple question: Do you know how many years Israel wandered in the wilderness? Most of us say, “Forty years.” But do you know why forty years? This is the part many miss. God says in Numbers 14:34 that because the spies explored the land for forty days, the people would wander one year for every day. Forty days of unbelief created forty years of delay. What was supposed to be a short crossing became a lifetime of wandering. And the saddest part? That whole unbelieving generation died in the wilderness, not because giants killed them… but because unbelief dried them up long before death ever reached their bodies. Hebrews 3:19 says it clearly: they could not enter God’s rest because of unbelief.

Our story today is simple. When God calls you into His rest, don’t let unbelief keep you wandering. Don’t let fear turn days into years. Don’t lose the promise God already placed before you. Walk like Joshua, believe like Caleb, and enter the rest God has prepared for you.