The Caleb Heart

The Caleb Heart Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD. Deuteronomy 1 v 36 Caleb wholeheartedly followed the Lord. He had no reservation in his faith. He boldly obeyed God. Scripture says that he had a different spirit. When he was sent into Canaan along with ten other spies to bring back intelligence about the land and its inhabitants, only Joshua and he brought back positive information that the land was good and fertile and that the Lord who had promised them the land would give them possession and that they would be able to defeat the seemingly formidable foes who were now inhabiting the land. Joshua and Caleb chose to see what their heart led by the Holy Spirit told them to see. They saw the land but did not bother too much about the size and prowess of the inhabitants. The others of that generation of Israelites listened to the spirit of the adversary and that filled them with fear and trembling at the odds against them. But Caleb and Joshua thought that “when God is with us, why should we worry about the odds? It is not a gamble or an uncertainty. Victory and success is a certainty.” The other day I was talking to a former senior American bank manager and I asked him what is the success rate in business. He replied that only one of ten business ideas succeed. The reason is that only one out of ten really believe that their idea will succeed. They have failed even before they had started. Caleb saw that the land would be in their possession soon. He did not focus on the obstacles. He focussed on the Lord and knew that His power to make things happen is unlimited. Caleb listened to his heart and not to what his mind saw. His mind fell in line with his heart and then thought of the strategy to overcome the adversaries, however powerful. We need to start with the end in sight, meaning we give thanks and praise to the Lord for the end result we are hoping for long before it happens. This is the land or success we are claiming for ourselves and our descendants. This is the land we are treading upon. When we have the promise of God in our hearts, why should we compromise with men? Why should we fear and tremble before men? This was the attitude of Caleb. He trusted the promise of God. The words “ save Caleb” in the uni-verse meant that he had an exceptional faith that we should emulate. It was not a blind faith as Caleb had seen and experienced how the mighty hand of the Lord had led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. He had seen how the Lord had led Israel through the wilderness for forty years as a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. Even today He leads us, if we follow Him wholly, as a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. In our adversity or night, He appears as a pillar of fire to drive away our adversaries, to put a ring of protection around us, to give us warmth and light, to show us the direction we should take. In our day or times of light and prosperity when circumstances are favourable, He provides a cloud of glory over us. He acts as a canopy of protection, a shade and shadow, a cloud seeded with the blessings He sends down on us from time to time as a shower. When we follow the Lord wholly, He gives a blessing to us and our succeeding generations. He renewed the youth of Caleb so that he retained the same vigour and strength at the age of eighty five that he had when he was in his forties. This is the secret of bearing fruit unto the Lord even in our old age. Prateep V Philip