Trusting God

Summary:

In Numbers 13–14, twelve spies explore the land God promised to Israel. It’s a good land—just like God said—but most of the spies come back afraid. They focus on the challenges and forget God’s promise. Their fear spreads, and the people decide not to trust God. Because of this, they miss out on the blessing. Only Joshua and Caleb trust God and believe He is bigger than the fears they face.

Application:

This story teaches kids that fear can stop us from following God, but faith helps us move forward. We all face scary moments—starting something new, standing up for what’s right, or going into the unknown. But when we trust in God’s promises, we can have courage, even when things look tough. God is always bigger than the fears we face.

How This Passage Points to Christ:

This story reminds us that trusting in God brings life and hope. Just like Joshua (whose name is the same as Jesus in Hebrew) led people into the Promised Land, Jesus leads us into eternal life. We are invited to trust in Him, even when life feels uncertain or scary. Jesus is God’s greatest promise, and He will never leave us alone in our fear.

Lesson Outline

1. Exploration: Embrace the Adventure

Scripture: Numbers 13:1–25 Key Idea: Trusting God means stepping into new things with faith, not fear.

Numbers 13:1–25 ESV

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua. Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there. At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land.

Teaching Point: The spies saw a land filled with good things—just like God had promised! It was an exciting moment. God had big plans for His people, and all they had to do was trust Him. Encourage kids to see that following God is like going on a great adventure, where we believe His promises even when we don’t see everything clearly yet.

Personal Story: Let me tell you about a time I felt afraid. When my wife and I traveled to Bolivia for a mission trip, we were excited—but also a little nervous. When we got to our room, we dropped our bags and looked up... and there on the ceiling was the biggest spider I had ever seen! I was scared. But then I remembered: God brought us there for a reason. Even in that scary moment, I knew He was with us. That spider didn’t stop our trip—and fear doesn’t have to stop us either.

Interactive Idea: Have kids imagine they’re explorers. What kind of “adventures” might God call them into—like starting a new school year or helping a friend? Create a “faith adventure map” together that shows how trusting God can lead them forward.

2. Excuses: Expose the Fears

Scripture: Numbers 13:26–33 Key Idea: Fear makes us forget God's promises, but faith helps us remember them.

Numbers 13:26–33 ESV

And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

Teaching Point: Most of the spies came back afraid. They saw big challenges and forgot how powerful God is. They let fear decide for them. But Joshua and Caleb remembered God's promise. They knew God was bigger than any fear they faced. Help kids see that fear can make things look worse than they are—but trusting God helps us see what’s really true.

Activity Idea: Draw two scenes—one of what the ten spies saw (fears, obstacles), and one of what Joshua and Caleb saw (God’s promises, opportunity). Talk about how our focus changes how we feel.

3. Faithfulness: Follow God’s Plan

Scripture: Numbers 14:1–38 Key Idea: Trusting God leads to His best; fear and rebellion lead us away from it.

Numbers 14:1–38 ESV

Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.” And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.” And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the Lord. Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

Teaching Point: When the people chose fear over faith, they turned away from God’s plan. That choice had big consequences. But God was still faithful, and He still had a plan to bless His people. Jesus is the proof of that faithfulness. Through Him, we’re forgiven and invited to trust God's path for our lives—even when it’s hard.

Gospel Connection: Jesus came so we don’t have to be ruled by fear. He died for us, rose again, and promises to be with us forever. When we trust in Him, we can follow God even in life’s scariest moments—because He is always bigger than the fears we face.

Reflection Activity: Ask: “What is one fear I need to trust God with today?” Let kids write it down or draw a picture of it. Then pray together, asking God to help them trust Him.

Closing Thought:

Faith isn’t pretending we’re never scared—it’s remembering that God is always bigger than the fears we face. Like Joshua and Caleb, we can choose to trust God and move forward in faith.