Numbers 13: 30-31
The nuts and bolts of Caleb’s courage are not found within himself, it was his trust and faith in God Almighty and His strength. God had proven time and again that He could be trusted. God’s Word teaches us a sobering truth about faith and the consequences of not believing God, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6.) Caleb pleased God- by believing God. I believe that it would have been exciting to have been around Caleb! This man had a heavenly fire that burnt in him like a flame thrower. Caleb seemed to have lived life to its fullest. God was the source that fueled Caleb’s unction for everyday living no matter what the opposition looked like. The opposite of such a life as Caleb lived is when one allows fear to consume them and in doing so fear will burn off the memories of God’s past peace, provision and power that He has supplied again and again in any and every situation.
We, too often, like the children of Israel romanticize that which we have been delivered from when the going gets tough and we begin to long for our own Egypt (“They said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt” (Numbers 14:4)- Captivity seemed better than Canaan). Fear often leads to foolish thinking and ultimately foolish words. We sin against God with our murmuring and we miss out on an opportunity to bring glory to God with the work He has planned for us. What is it that God has called you to do? Why is it that all you see are the giants and the difficulty? Caleb’s confidence was not in himself, but in God. Whom is your confidence in? Are you seeing nothing but obstacles or are you dreaming big in the opportunity that God has before you?