Believing Isn’t Always Seeing
In a world that misleads, misguides, and misinforms, there is value in “seeing is believing.” Believing in something before we see it is contrary to human nature. We are conditioned to see first, and then believe.
We tend to think that our eyes don’t lie. But do they? We see and believe through the lens of confirmation bias, which is the tendency to process information in a way that supports our beliefs and values. If you tend to think that older people are bad drivers, you tend to see more bad driving by the elderly. If you believe that all young people look at their phones 24/7, you tend to focus on examples of kids glued to their phones, while missing their parents doing the very same thing. We corroborate evidence that supports our way of thinking.
It is also true that many great achievements started when someone first believed it was possible. They believed before they saw. Faith is the same way. Faith is believing what we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 tells us so – “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see” (GNT).
A story in the Bible shows us two responses to seeing the same thing. One response was a belief in what was seen while the other, seeing what was believed. In Numbers chapter 13, as Moses and Aaron were ready to lead the people into the Promised Land, twelve scouts (one from each ancestral tribe) were sent out to check out the land of Canaan.
Upon returning from their reconnaissance mission, the scouts testified that the land did in fact flow with milk and honey (13:25-27), just as God has promised (Exodus 3:8; Leviticus 20:24). They also reported that the people who lived there were powerful and the cities fortified (13:28).
Upon seeing the size of the inhabitants, ten of the spies saw fear rather than faith – “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are (v.31).” And in verse 33 we read, “We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
Caleb, one of the scouts, responded to that alarming news this way, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it (v:30).” He trusted God’s plan.
The ten allowed what they saw to negate what they knew to be true, and in doing so, instilled such fear that the entire community cried out that it would have been better if they had died in Egypt or the wilderness (Numbers 14:1-2).
Again, Caleb, joined by Joshua, saw faith instead of fear. They believed what they knew to be true (God’s promise) rather than seeing the fear (giant people). In addressing the crowd, here is what they said – “If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them” (Number 14:8-9).
All twelve of the scouts saw the same thing, yet they responded two very different ways. Ten believed what they saw. Two saw what they believed. In which camp do you find yourself?
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