Prayer Journal
Tuesday, November 21, 2000
"I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly." Josh 14:7-8
At forty years of age, Caleb was given the important job of surveying the promised land with eleven others. After forty days, the people heard the majority report of the scouts but failed to believe God could give them the victory. The net result of their failure was forty years of wilderness wandering until most of the adults died off. But Joshua and Caleb believed God.
At eighty years of age, Caleb arrived back at Kadesh Barnea once again. Caleb was still strong and still believed God would keep His promise to His people. God did exactly that! Israel possessed the land and finally began to drive out the enemies of the Lord as they had been commanded.
But, what does an "old" man do when he sees a major part of his life has been spent in fruitless endeavor? The frustration must have led to many temptations to give up. He certainly must have felt anger toward those whose failure created his own dilemma. Day after day in the desert, he must have listened to the grumbling of the people about things that were not his fault. One can only imagine the "endless" statement of fear from his old scout friends, that they and their family would die alone in the wilderness.
If we stop and think about it, aren't we very much like those unfaithful scouts? So many of our bad situations are actually the result of our own failure to believe God and trust Him. Still, we blame someone else, perhaps even God Himself. We melt with fear when life bears down and we whine about our circumstances. God asks us to trust Him and we act like we can't hear Him. We have a sort of godliness about us, but our life has little spiritual significance. Could we, much like the Israelites be in our own forty years of wandering?
Then, there are those who refuse to blame others for their problems; who keep their eyes on God and kingdom work, waiting on God to do what he said He would do; often grieving, but seldom, if ever, whining about their situation. Listen to what God thinks about people like that: "But my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly. I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it." Num 14:24 There is hope if we trust God and wait on Him. Just Thinkin'.. WebServant
(1) Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society
(2) The images used herein were obtained from the Learning Company's ClickArt Christian Graphics Deluxe product, (c)1999 The Learning Company, Inc and its subsidiaries, 88 Roland Way, Novato, CA 94945 USA. All Rights Reserved.
