“But my servant Caleb, because he had ANOTHER SPIRIT with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land where into he went; and his seed shall possess it.” Numbers 14:24
A CALEB SPIRIT.
Did you know that there is a spirit of faith and a spirit of unbelief? People either walk by faith or walk by sight. They are either controlled by fear or becoming more and more confident by faith in the rock-solid promises of the Word of God. Faith is simply finding a promise in the Word of God, claiming it, and then acting like God is telling the truth!
Now the Bible is clear that the majority of people in our world walk by sight. That is true of unbelievers and, unfortunately, it is also true of many Christians. These folks make decisions and choices based on the circumstances… on what they see. Tragically, they miss out on many blessings and fail to be used by the Lord in ways He desires. Can that be said about your life? Could you be missing out on God’s best for you?
NOT CALEB!
Our verse for today tells us that Caleb was a man with “another spirit.” He was different from the average Israelite. He was one who lived and walked by what God said, not by what he saw. When he went in to spy out the Promised Land, he saw a great opportunity for God to work miracles and give them the land… just like He had promised. The other spies, except Joshua, only saw the giants and the reasons why they could not go in and take the land. “There is no way we can do this,” they cried. “We are just little grasshoppers going up against giants. We need to forget this Promised Land and go back to Egypt.” UGH! The people made a terrible decision that day because they failed to factor God into the equation.
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
In your life, what do you see… the giants or the promises of God? Jesus said, “If you believe, you will see the glory of God” (John 11:40). If you do not believe it, you won’t see it. You will be like the faithless among the children of Israel, wandering in the wilderness for 40 years instead of feasting in the Promised Land.
Caleb is a strong reminder that you and I can choose to walk by faith. We can choose to have “another spirit” … one that believes God in spite of negative circumstances and the negative people around us. Remember, “…nothing is too hard for Him” (Jeremiah 32:17). The God who can part the Red Sea, rain bread down from heaven, and bring water out of a rock… that same God can do miracles in your life IF you will only trust Him and follow Him fully, like Caleb!
BUT MY FAITH SEEMS SO SMALL!
The Bible tells the story of a man who had a demon-possessed son. He came to Jesus, pleading with Him to touch his child. He said, “..if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” That’s when the father cried out in tears, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:22-24). This man’s faith was good enough for the Lord, because Jesus responded to his cry and healed his son. He was honest and admitted that he had his moments of doubt. But he brought as much faith as he could and put it in the Lord. Remember this: Your prayers are answered when your focus is not on the size your faith, but the size of your God! Amen?!
WHAT SAY YOU?
What difficulty are you facing today? Are you so focused on your problem that you’ve lost sight of the mighty God you serve? It can happen, I know myself! Do like Caleb did. Refuse to look at the size of the giants and focus on the might and power of God Who can do all things. Do you realize what you’re saying to the Lord (whether you verbalize it or not) when you refuse to give your “huge problem” over to Him in prayer? You are literally saying, “Lord, I just don’t believe You can handle this issue either!” What an insult to the Lord! Take time right now to focus on the glory and power of Almighty God.
Put your problems into correct perspective: they are smaller than a pimple on a flea compared to Him. There is nothing He cannot do! Trust Him anew and afresh with every battle you face. He will bring blessings galore for those who have a Caleb spirit and see God as God!
Think it over…
Written by Doug Pierce
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Christian Grandfather Magazine
Featured Image by Thiago Alves from Pixabay
