Numbers 13:17-18
"And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;"
God told Moses to choose twelve men, one from each tribe, to go into the land of Canaan to spy out the land and to come back and tell the people what they saw. For forty days these men were in the land of Canaan and saw the future that God had promised to them. Sadly, when they came back, ten men gave an evil report and two men gave a positive report. Because of the evil report of the ten men, the children of Israel followed the advice of the ten men to their detriment.
It is interesting that these twelve spies saw the same thing, but they really didn't see the same thing. They all saw the iron chariots. They all saw the huge walls of defense. They all saw the giants of the land. They all saw the grapes of Eschol and the blessing in the land. Yet, they all saw these things through a different perspective. Ten men saw these things through fleshly eyes, while two men saw these things through the eyes of faith. The ten men that saw these things through fleshly eyes had the evil report, while the two men who saw these things through the eyes of faith had the same perspective as God.
Let me give you a friendly warning not to look at things through fleshly eyes. When you look at things through fleshly eyes you will not see the potential of God's power. Joshua and Caleb saw what God could do in the land of Canaan. They said, "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." When you see things through the eyes of faith you will always see things in a positive manner of what God can do; however, if you see things through eyes of flesh you will always see the obstacles.
Christian, be careful to look at your church and the works of God through the eyes of faith. Don't be negative about everything going on in your church. Certainly, there may be things that need to be corrected, but don't complain and gripe about everything you see in the church. It could be that the reason you see the negative is because you are looking through fleshly eyes. It could be that your eyes of faith are weak and need to be strengthened through the Word of God. You will find that when you look through the eyes of faith that God will change your perspective to see things His way.
I encourage you to daily ask God to help you see things through the eyes of faith. When you find yourself being negative, stop what you are doing and get alone and ask God to help you see things through His eyes. Don't always assume that you are seeing things correctly. Let the eyes of faith cause you to see the power of God working through the obstacles that the eyes of faith see. Let the eyes of faith cause you to see opportunities and not barriers.
Your perception will ultimately determine what God will do through you. Ten men who could have seen the power of God knock down the walls, crush the iron chariots and defeat the giants never saw it because of the negative their eyes of flesh caused them to see. Is your perception keeping you from see the miraculous? Yield your eyes to God and let Him control them to see through the eyes of faith. It is then that you will begin to see what the power of God can do to remove every obstacle that stands in your way.