Shelach means “send forth.”  At the beginning of this portion, God allowed Moses to send twelve spies (meraglim in Hebrew) to gather intelligence about the land of Canaan.  It was only at the people’s urging that spies were sent into the land, for God had already told them how good the Promised Land was, and that they would have His complete backing in conquering it.

After 40 days of reconnaissance, they returned.  Ten of the spies came back with a disparaging report that the land would not be able to be conquered because its inhabitants were too strong and fierce, and their cities were too well guarded.  They saw the inhabitants as giants, and themselves as grasshoppers.

The spies’ false, negative report tore down the confidence of the rest of the Children of Israel, and they all wept that night.  The same Israelites who had beheld the great and awesome miracles of deliverance in Egypt, from the Ten Plagues to the Splitting of the Red Sea, as well as miracles of providence, provision, and protection in the desert, were now in despair, even saying that they wanted to return to Egypt.  Even though God had promised to give them the Land of Israel, they no longer believed that He was powerful enough to do so.

However, Joshua and Caleb, the other two spies, contended that if the people had faith in God and His promise to their ancestors, they would surely overcome the inhabitants of Canaan.  But the people would not listen, and even threatened to stone them.   Because of their rebellion and disbelief, God decreed that they would wander the desert for 40 years—one year for every day of the spies’ expedition.

What does this Torah portion teach us about the type of mentality we should have when faced with challenges?

Negativity causes discouragement and a lack of motivation.  The burden of discouragement is what makes us lose perspective, shut off possibilities, and miss great opportunities.  Learn to think for yourself, and to be an encouragement and not a discouragement to others.

Fear, anxiety, and worry can leave you feeling paralyzed, breaking your determination to move forward with a positive outlook on the future.  Do you find yourself seeing negative outcomes before they actually happen?  Don’t let your fears dictate your reality.  Instead, have faith in yourself and faith in the One Who can overcome any giant that you face.

You can choose to listen to and believe the negative, or believe that there is always another way to look at something. You can choose to focus on the good words that you hear and the good things that happen throughout the day.  You can choose to reflect on the wonderful gifts that God has given you.  Stop talking about how great your battle is, and start talking about how great your God is.