We are introduced to Caleb early during the journey of the children of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. Moses had sent out twelve spies to look over and assess the situation and bring back a report. Ten of the spies said that, while the land was great, they would be unable to take it. But two—Joshua and Caleb—said, “Let’s go up and possess the land.”
The negative report spread quickly through the Hebrew camp, and the people strenuously objected to Moses’ pleas to go into the land. In response, God says of them, “…Not one of them will set eyes on the land I so solemnly promised to their ancestors. No one who has treated Me with such repeated contempt will see it.” But when the attention is turned to Caleb, God says, “He has a different spirit; he follows Me passionately.” Consider three qualities Caleb possessed that may be helpful for us.
First, Caleb was guided by faith and not by sight. Caleb saw what the other spies saw—the danger and the strength of the opposition. But Caleb knew there was more to the situation than what he could see. But in faith, Caleb remembered God’s promise. It reminds us that disciples must first live by faith and not by sight.
Second, Caleb believed the problems and hardships facing Israel would bring out the best in them. The best doesn’t come out in anyone who will not permit God to bring out the best that’s in them. If we want to be believers of spiritual distinction, we mustn’t be afraid of problems. Spiritual problems won’t destroy us, but they will bring out the best that’s in us.
Finally, Caleb knew that the outcome was in God’s hands. Similarly, we must remember that the outcome is not in our hands, nor in the hands of our oppressors, nor in the hands of our enemies, but in God’s hands. This is the foundation of an outcome-based theology.
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