"Then the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua...and Caleb...said to him, 'You know the word which the LORD spoke to Moses...concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea. I was forty years old when Moses...sent me...to spy out the land, and I brought back to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the LORD my God fully. And now behold, the LORD has let me live these forty-five years...I am eighty-five years old today, I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in... Now then, give me this hill country about which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out as the LORD has spoken...' Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb...because he followed the LORD God of Israel fully."
More than anything, we are heart people. We see with the heart. We speak with the heart. And we serve with the heart. That's why God goes after the heart, seeking those who, as Caleb, will give themselves to Him with all their heart. Anything less is subject to the negative influence of murmurers and complainers who, like water, gravitate to the lowest level. When Caleb contradicted these voices at Kadesh-barnea, he caught God's eye and and heart. It's with a deep sense of respect and appreciation that God promises Caleb His blessing, saying, "because [Caleb] has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring [him] into the land..." (Numbers 14:24-25). Forty-five years later, at eighty-five years of age, Caleb's heart still beat as strongly for the things that mattered, as they did when he was forty. The tragedy is, the highways of the Christian life are strewn with the corpses of those who lost heart along the way. We need something of that "different spirit" that, down through the years, continues to see the possibilities of God and, from the heart, views those possibilities with anticipation and aggression. We need something of that "different spirit" that, down through the years, continues to speak to the promises of God and, from the heart, says, "give me this hill country with the Anakim and great fortified cities!" We need something of that "different spirit" that takes possession of the promises of God, with such decisiveness that all know, as expressed in verse 14, "Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb." Why? "because he followed the LORD God of Israel fully." That's why. This isn't something to get pumped up over. This isn't about getting pumped up at all. This is about a direction of the heart that just keeps going the same direction against all the detours, distractions and discouragements along the way. All the pumping up in the world won't keep you from finally caving in to these. Only a set of the heart will. Drastic? Yes. But it will keep you from heart failure.
More than anything, we are heart people. We see with the heart. We speak with the heart. And we serve with the heart. That's why God goes after the heart, seeking those who, as Caleb, will give themselves to Him with all their heart. Anything less is subject to the negative influence of murmurers and complainers who, like water, gravitate to the lowest level. When Caleb contradicted these voices at Kadesh-barnea, he caught God's eye and and heart. It's with a deep sense of respect and appreciation that God promises Caleb His blessing, saying, "because [Caleb] has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring [him] into the land..." (Numbers 14:24-25). Forty-five years later, at eighty-five years of age, Caleb's heart still beat as strongly for the things that mattered, as they did when he was forty. The tragedy is, the highways of the Christian life are strewn with the corpses of those who lost heart along the way. We need something of that "different spirit" that, down through the years, continues to see the possibilities of God and, from the heart, views those possibilities with anticipation and aggression. We need something of that "different spirit" that, down through the years, continues to speak to the promises of God and, from the heart, says, "give me this hill country with the Anakim and great fortified cities!" We need something of that "different spirit" that takes possession of the promises of God, with such decisiveness that all know, as expressed in verse 14, "Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb." Why? "because he followed the LORD God of Israel fully." That's why. This isn't something to get pumped up over. This isn't about getting pumped up at all. This is about a direction of the heart that just keeps going the same direction against all the detours, distractions and discouragements along the way. All the pumping up in the world won't keep you from finally caving in to these. Only a set of the heart will. Drastic? Yes. But it will keep you from heart failure.
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