Topic: Conflict!
Scripture: Numbers 13:30 through 14:3 (Message version)
Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, "Let's go up and take the land—now. We can do it." But the others said, "We can't attack those people; they're way stronger than we are." They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, "We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it's a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them, we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers." The whole community was in an uproar, wailing all night long. All the People of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The entire community was in on it: "Why didn't we die in Egypt? Or in this wilderness? Why has God brought us to this country to kill us? Our wives and children are about to become plunder. Why don't we just head back to Egypt? And right now!"
Devotion:
I usually prefer the simple to the complex. In our five thoughts on Caleb, I realized that we can simply use his name as an acrostic for traits/characteristics Caleb demonstrated. My challenge was, once I started thinking about this and talking to some of my breakfast group, to keep my focus to a single characteristic for each letter.
For “C” alone, and with out too much effort, I came up with nearly a dozen “C” traits:
Called, Challenged, good Choices, Chosen, Competent, Complete, Conflicting, Consistent, Content, Courageous, and not a Coward. I’m sure you can come up with even more.
I chose “Conflicting” to think about today.
C – Conflicting
A –
L –
E –
B –
So many times, we think our Christian Life (or family life, of school life, or work life, or…) is supposed to be a tranquil existence. Some churches and ministers profess “happy Jesus all the time” as a friend of mine calls it. Give to get to give, and let’s all just smile and love each other and we’ll all be healthy, wealthy and happy.
Here’s where I confess, in my life, it just isn’t so. With being married, a teenaged daughter at home, experience serving on committees and in leadership in the church, and a job, I have seen conflict.
Tracy and I have shared over twenty years, and blessed in this marriage with her enduring love and support, many times I have been willing and able to stand up for things that truly mattered. For things I believed were best for my family. For the right decision on issues that impact people at work and the funds my employers entrust to me. For the stand God would have me take at church and in all the other situations too. Sadly though, I have not always stood my ground. I have not always made the right decision, or taken the right stand. When I have been wrong or just failed to act, I have seen those around me pay a price, but I can’t say I have experienced anything like Caleb did. He did what was right – he trusted God, spoke up for his faith when almost no one wanted to hear it. He took what became a very unpopular position, and ended up taking laps in the desert with his friends watching his peers die for forty years anyway.
Are we willing to take an unpopular position and risk publically conflicting with the majority for things we know are true and right? Today, let “C” characteristics be on your mind, and either take one of those above, or one of your own, and think about how Caleb demonstrated this trait. Pray and ask God to help you demonstrate that trait too – for His Glory.
