Numbers 13 & 14: 12 Spies and a Promised Land (Covered in cell on 7 March)
The 12 spies Moses had sent to check out Canaan came back telling the Israelites two different stories about what they'd seen. The land "flowed with milk and honey", but because the people who lived there were powerful, 10 of the men were afraid of attacking them and spread a bad report about the land. Only Caleb & Joshua proclaimed the truth to the Israelites (Num 14:6-9), because only they had the faith to take seriously God's promise to give them the land.
God had repeatedly promised to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites ever since Abraham's time (see Gen 12 and Gen 15), but still the Israelites chose to listen to the majority - it was 10 men to 2 - and allowed fear to overcome their faith. Their rebellion against God earned the entire nation the punishment of wandering 40 years in the desert, and cost the entire generation the privilege of entering the Promised Land. Only Caleb & Joshua were spared.
Some takeaways from this: 1. Compare your problems to God; don't compare yourself to your problems! The 10 spies & the Israelites were overcome with fear when they realised they would have to fight giants. Their problems were - literally - much bigger than what they could handle! Caleb and Joshua's different attitude wasn't because they saw smaller people; it was because they saw a Big God.
2. God keeps His promises - so hold on to them. God had promised these Israelites the land since way before they were born, but when the trial came, they failed to hold on to that promise. Looking to God's promises and character will keep us hanging on when the storms come, but first, we need to know what these promises are! It's reading the Bible & spending time with God that helps us grow deeper in knowing what God's like and what exactly He promises, so that in times of trial, we have something concrete to hold on to.