Hearts of Passion

During my time in Romania, I've had the pleasure of meeting with a small group of missionaries on Wednesday nights for a time of Bible study, spiritual encouragement, and prayer.  Last week we did a study on Caleb, one of the twelve spies sent into the land of Canaan by Moses.  Out of twelve men, only Caleb and Joshua had faith to believe that God would bring the people into the Promised Land, despite all of the miraculous ways in which He had delivered and cared for them and showed His character, despite the covenant and promises He had made with Israel.  Because of the faithlessness of the rest of the people, God told them they would wander and die in the wilderness; their children would go in to the land, but they would never see it.  Then He said, "But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land in which he went, and his descendants shall possess it."  Num. 14:24  It was challenging to dig deeper into the life of this man and search for the secrets of his passionate heart after God. 

When his companions lost heart, fearing the inhabitants of the land over the power of their God, and swayed the opinion of the entire mob in their favor, Caleb stood alone on the promise of God's covenant.  He said, "Let's go take the land; we are ready and able to do this!"  When the people doubted and grumbled, Caleb urged them to trust in the Lord and warned them not to rebel against Him.  He never faltered in his faith.  God had promised to go with Israel, and Caleb trusted that as a result, no one would be able to stand against them!  No matter that the people of Canaan were strong, well-armed, and some were giants....Caleb understood that God had removed all protection from them because of their wickedness.  He was all-in with God; he was ready to obey the command to take the land, even though I'm sure he couldn't see how it would all work out.  Caleb did not trust in what he could see.  He lived by faith, and this faith set him apart from his companions.

But Caleb was not immune to the consequences of his people's rebellion.  He had to endure forty years of wandering in the desert, watching all of the people over twenty years old die.  Can you imagine waiting forty years for God to fulfill a promise or a dream?  I wonder how many of us would have given up.  And how did it feel to slowly lose his family, his friends, so many people he loved and respected and worked with?  When it was all over, Caleb was the only one over the age of sixty in the entire race of Israel, except for Joshua and Moses.  Think of it....at eighty years of age, he finally set foot once more in the Promised Land and began to see his dream come true!  And it took another five years until most of the land was conquered and Caleb received his inheritance and was able to settle in.  But in all that time, he never stopped following God.  In Joshua 14, we read that Caleb came to Joshua and asked for his inheritance.  He reminds Joshua of God's promise to them all those years ago, and he says that he "wholly followed the Lord my God".

After the study, God prompted me to do my own search of other people throughout the Bible who had this "different spirit" like Caleb.  What I found was deeply inspiring and challenging!  God has pointed out specific lives of individuals throughout Scripture to show us what kind of people are pleasing to Him.  We need to study their examples.  I just want to make a quick note on what I found here. 

Hebrews 11:6 tells us, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him."

Enoch walked with God and was commended by God as having pleased Him.  Gen. 5:24, Heb. 11:5

Noah also walked with God and found favor in His eyes.  Gen. 6:8-9

God Almighty made a personal covenant with Abraham and his descendants.  Abraham's faith in God's promise was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.  Gen. 17:1-2, Rom. 4:3, Jam. 2:23

Moses spoke with God face to face and found special favor with God.  Ex. 33:11, 17

God said that David was a man after His own heart, who would do all His will.  David had success in all he did because the Lord was with him.  1 Sam. 13:14, 18:14, Acts 13:22

God called Job blameless and upright; he distinguished him over all the other people on earth. 
Job 1:8

Daniel had an excellent spirit; the pagan Babylonians called it the spirit of the holy gods. 
Dan. 5:11-12

I long to have a place with these great men of God, one with an excellent spirit, in whom He delights.  These men were rare among their generation.  But what about today?  Romans chapter 8 explains that everyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit of God living in them.  If you have the Spirit of God in you, then you have the power to walk with God as these men did!  It is no longer limited to a select few individuals.  The Holy Spirit is available to all who will surrender their lives fully to His control. 

"And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh....and it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  Acts 2:17,21

As you look into the lives of each of these men and many others in the Scripture, you will see that the common denominator was their faith in God.  They knew who God was, and they believed Him.  Period.  They believed Him with their whole heart.  If you and I will do the same, God will have the same pleasure in us as He did in them!

So I leave you with this powerful prayer from Ephesians 3:  "that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."

Amen.