The Israelites who came out of Egypt desired to see the land of promise, but only Joshua and Caleb made it from that generation. What was different about these two? What was about Joshua and Caleb that gave them success!? What allowed them to have a sustaining faith in the face of the same trying circumstances that the others experienced!? …
The Israelites learned the hard way that unbelief and listening to the voice of majority has major consequences. Many times, the voice of the majority is not correct, and it requires courage and discernment to hear God amid all the unbelief around us.
Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. Numbers 14:20-24
Only two out of twelve spies came back with a good report. The ten spies exaggerated the problem to the point that they convinced themselves and others that they were not capable of fighting those men. On the other hand, Joshua and Caleb’s report was faith-filled. They saw the size of their enemies, but they resolved that God is greater than any giants in the land.
Faith is a decision to believe God and to trust Him when we don’t have all the facts. Genuine and bold faith is not easily found. The voice of the majority generally is the voice of unbelief and relying on it is bound to cause problems and lead people the wrong way.
While we should count the cost before we make a major decision, there are times that we cannot figure out God’s direction, but we know it is from Him. If we are going to walk by faith, we have to accept the fact that the Lord may not provide step-by-step instructions nor does He give details in advance. All we know is that He is guiding us in a certain direction.
When you read the entire passage in Numbers 14, you find that Moses interceded on behalf of the Israelites and God forgave them. However, they still had to experience the consequences of their unbelief and disobedience. God punished the Israelites by keeping them in the wilderness one year for every day that they spent scouting out the land and bringing the unfavorable report to the people. That meant they were going to spend forty years in the wilderness. The only two from their generation who were going to make it to the Land of promise were Joshua and Caleb!
The Israelites’ unbelief and disobedience were very costly. Our unbelief and its associated disobedience can also be very costly, and it may lead us to going around the mountain over and over again.
Interestingly, we don’t find Joshua and Caleb complaining about the Israelites’ unbelief and the fact that they also had to remain in the wilderness for forty years before they could enter the land of promise. These two individuals were courageous in the true sense of the word. They were not just warriors confident in their ability to fight the enemies, but they were also humble men who accepted the consequence of Israelites’ disobedience and went around the mountain right along with them.
Knowing God was displeased with them, the Israelites decided to go up and fight the Amalekites after all. Moses told them that they were being presumptuous. God had given them a window of grace and the opportunity to fight the “giants’ in the land, but they had refused to accept it at the right time. Surprisingly, they did not feel like grasshoppers anymore and they thought they could fight them this time! In reality, the Israelites were operating in carnality both times. At first, they did not want to go because they focused on themselves and didn’t think they had what it took to conquer the land. Now, they felt bad about God’s punishment and displeasure, so they decided to fix it on their own. They were not looking to the Lord to help, and they ended up not succeeding in their own efforts.
Sometimes, we get emotional and make rash decisions. We can vacillate back and forth based on how we feel at the moment about a decision. It is better to seek the Lord and allow our emotions of fear, guilt, frustration, or pride to subside, so we can hear God clearly rather than jumping into or out of a decision based on momentary emotions.
Caleb and Joshua remained steady and were able to successfully reach the Promised Land. Our walk with the Lord will continue to require faith, patience, obedience, and humility to have the longevity and the success that Caleb and Joshua experienced.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Many people like and enjoy the warmth of God’s presence, but they don’t know how to see God’s promises fulfilled in their lives. Some used to get excited about personal prophesies, but now they wonder when and how they are going to come to pass. The truth is that God’s promises will continue to require His children to engage with them in faith and not doubting what the Lord has spoken. The Israelites struggled with this in the wilderness when they doubted God helping them to get to the Promised Land. They focused on their inadequacies rather than God’s miraculous work on their behalf. …
Many times God’s promises have conditions of faith, obedience, and waiting. On the way to the land of promise, the Israelites struggled with them all, and we have similar struggles. …
To experience the fullness of life that Jesus promised us, we need abiding faith, hope, and love, and it all begins with the revelation of God’s love towards us! …
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12
How do we fight the good fight of faith!? Jesus told us that it would not be easy and that it would require us to exert a force in the direction of God’s Kingdom. To possess God’s promises for us, we not only need to believe them, but we also need to act on them and live them out!
In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to pray that they would not be led in temptation but to be delivered from evil. If we are going to take possession of what God has already bought for us through the precious blood of Jesus, we need to remain alert to the enemy’s devices. If we fall into temptations or offenses, we open the door to the enemy, and we lose the territory that belongs to us. The enemy is after derailing God’s people by causing shame, guilt, and accusation.
Joseph had dreams about God’s purpose in his life, but for many years everything looked opposite of what he had seen in his dreams. He could have grown bitter, resentful, and disobedient to those who ruled over him. To the contrary, Joseph fought the good fight of faith by remaining diligent, pure, obedient, and free from offense. This prevented him from not being baited by the enemy nor to be derailed from God’s purpose in his life.
But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12
Paul gives another glimpse of how to fight the good fight of faith. He describes that we are to live with godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. These qualities allow a believer to lay hold of the Kingdom of God and bring it to earth. Furthermore, others get to see, taste, and experience the Kingdom of God through those who live their lives this way.
Today, as we remember the work and the ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King, we see a man of God who fought the good fight of faith in pursuit of truth, dignity, and justice! He exerted force and brought violence against the kingdom of darkness, hatred, and racism, but he fought this battle with faith, love, courage, and patience. While taking action, his hope was ultimately in the Lord his redeemer, which brings us to the next point in Paul’s exhortation.
Paul also stresses to lay hold on eternal life! This is an important aspect of fighting the good fight of faith. Jesus bought eternal life for every person who confesses their sin and recognizes Jesus’ work on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus did not just die, so we can have a good life on this earth, but He died to give us the hope and expectation of an eternal life with our savior and Lord. If people live their lives as if this life is all there is, then they will live their lives with frustration, anger, compulsion, and restlessness. It is the hope of eternal life that allows God’s children to live with contentment, peace, and joy in this unstable world!
We live in a world where the enemy wants to draw every person, including the believers, into the bait of hatred, division, and animosity. As God’s people, we are called to do it differently! How do you fight the good fight of faith? Do you recognize the enemy’s schemes in derailing you from God’s purpose!? Are you ruled by God’s character in your life even when things don’t go your way? Do you have the hope of eternal life?
This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 1Timothy 1:18-19a (KJV)
Mightest (According to Strong’s Dictionary): to make a military expedition, to lead soldiers to war or to battle, (spoken of a commander).
Paul told Timothy that he should wage a mightest war with the prophecies spoken over him. Paul saw Timothy not only as a spiritual son but also as a fellow soldier in the army of God! Paul’s instruction to Timothy shows clearly that some of the prophesies were not going to be fulfilled unless Timothy was willing to fight the spiritual fight!
When the Lord speaks to His people, it is generally two-fold. He speaks about the person or people’s lives, but it is also about His Kingdom purpose in their lives. Similarly, the prophesies over Timothy would not only have been about his personal life, but they also would have been about God’s purpose in his life, his role in the Kingdom of God, and how the Lord saw Him in the spirit. As Timothy fought for the fulfillment of those prophesies, he was also fighting for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth!
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12
Jesus told his disciples that they needed to possess God’s Kingdom by fighting in the spirit. This is not a carnal fight, and we cannot fight it with our natural strength! Our authority to fight the battle in the spirit realm is because we know we are God’s children, redeemed, and bought with the precious blood of the lamb. We belong to the Kingdom of God, and we have been authorized by God to fight the good fight. This fight is about standing secure and settled in our identity in Christ!
When we fight, we are fighting with faith and hope in the unchanging character of God. Jesus won the victory over every form of darkness, evil, sin, and principalities. Therefore, we fight the good fight by declaring that we want God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven!
Are you aware that you will have to fight the good fight to see God’s purpose fulfilled? How do you engage in this fight?
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
Then the Lord answered me and said:
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.
“Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:1-4
The Lord reminded Habakkuk of three truths that are important for us to remember as we go through the process of seeing God’s vision being fulfilled:
The word “speak” in its original Hebrews means: to blow, to breathe, to inflame, and to excite (From Strong’s Concordance). God’s vision brings about fresh breath of air, and it inspires its hearers. It blows air into the embers, and it inflames our faith afresh. The good news is that when the vision comes from the Lord, it speaks truth and does not lie! It excites us but with the purpose to move us forward into God’s purpose. The vision has substance and is weighty. It is not wishful thinking nor does it puff us up! When Joesph had the dreams about his future, they did not puff him up. They were substantive and purposeful in his life as he went through many struggles before he saw their fulfillment.
The Lord reminded Habakkuk that there would be a delay in bringing forth the vision! Things are not going to happen in our timeframe. We may have an opinion as to when is a good time, but the Lord sees all things and knows the appointed time for it. In Hebrew, the above word “wait” is about longing for it and to “tie a knot” (From Strong’s Concordance). The Lord calls for our faith to be anchored in Him for bringing forth the vision. God is trustworthy, and He will bring it into fruition!
At first, Abraham believed God when he heard God’s vision, but then through years of waiting, his wife convinced him that they must do something to make it happen! So Abraham had Ishmael with his Egyptian maidservant! They found out, the hard way, that God’s vision will be done in God’s timing and in God’s way. In spite of their impatience and mess up, the Lord was merciful and allowed them to have the promised child, Isaac, through Sarah !
The delay may cause believers to doubt the Lord’s vision and His promises, but the Lord expects His children to remain steadfast. He is faithful, and He will accomplish what He has spoken. Those who are in a right-standing with the Lord will continue to live by faith. They will continue to believe God. While we cannot make a vision happen in our timeframe, we can cause God’s vision to be delayed due to our grumbling or disobedience.
While in the wilderness, the Israelites had God’s vision. However, when things took too long and the heat and dryness of the wilderness caused weariness in their bodies and spirits, they lost the vision for the Promised Land. That generation died in the wilderness and it was the next generation that saw the fulfillment of God’s vision!
Most of us have experienced delays in the vision that God has given us. With the above scriptures, the Lord is encouraging all of us about the reliability of His word. As we wait for the fulfillment of the vision, let’s consider the following:
1. Was the vision from the Lord!? If you’re not sure, talk to a spiritually mature believer. Share the vision and ask them to prayerfully evaluate God’s vision with you.
2. If you believe it was God’s vision, be sure to write it down.
3. Deal with any unbelief in your heart by asking the Lord for forgiveness and renew your mind with His truth.
4. If you have experienced some disappointments, surrender them to the Lord and allow Him to refresh your vision.
5. Enjoy your relationship with the Lord and stay in faith.
6. Be obedient to what He asks you to do and continue to pray over God’s vision for you.
