A Wholehearted Life

We have a lot of half-hearted people filling the pews of churches today. They want to give only the bare minimum to the One who gave everything for them.

Some people think they have too much of the Lord to be happy in this world, but they have too much of this world to be happy in the Lord. They live in a miserable no-man’s-land. Yet if we want to live the Christian life as it was meant to be lived, then we need follow the Lord wholeheartedly.

That’s what Caleb did. He is a hero of the faith, one of the unsung heroes of Scripture. Caleb never lost his edge spiritually. And in every sense of the phrase, he finished well. He was faithful to the very end.

Where did Caleb get the strength to do it? We find the answer in Joshua 14:9, where Caleb said, “So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God’” (NLT).

Caleb wholeheartedly followed the Lord his God. Forty-five years earlier, Caleb, along with Moses, Joshua, and the children of Israel, came to the edge of the Promised Land. They had made the trek from Egypt and now were poised to enter in. And their point of entry was Kadesh-barnea.

Twelve men went in to spy out the land, and Caleb and Joshua were among them. The Israelites probably should have simply gone into the Promised Land, believing that God would give it to them. After all, God had promised He would watch out for them, bless them, and get them through. Instead, they sent out the spies.

After some time in the land, the twelve spies returned. Ten of the men essentially said, “You don’t want to go into that place. Everything in this land is big. The walls are big. The towns are big. There are giants in the land.”

Meanwhile, Joshua and Caleb said, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! .. . . Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” (Numbers 14:7, 9 NLT).

But the people were angry with Joshua and Caleb for daring to suggest they continue into the land. They actually wanted to kill the two men on the spot. As a result, God wasn’t happy with Israel. He basically said, “That’s it. None of you will enter into the land except Joshua and Caleb.” Then they had to wander in the wilderness for forty long years.

If we want to finish well, like Caleb, then we must follow God wholeheartedly. That means we won’t compromise but instead stand our ground. It means we’re more concerned with the approval of God than that of anyone else.

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