Caleb - Believer

Topic:               Believe

Scripture:          Joshua 14:13-14

Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance… because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel.

Devotion:

As we reach the end of this series on Caleb, we move to the “B”s.  Brave, Bold, Believer, looked Beyond, model Behavior, and Barely known come to mind.  I’ve been thinking of Caleb, the Believer.

C – Conflicting

A – Available

L – Layman

E – Example

B – Believe

How easy is it to believe?  The engineer in me wants to have proof.  I like facts, figures, pictures or anything that helps demonstrate the truth.  In my job, it’s necessary and appropriate, but in my spiritual life, that doesn’t always work.  In James 11:1, faith is described as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” 

If ever anyone from the Old Testament embodied this, it would be Caleb.  He believed Moses could bring the Israelite people out of Egypt.  He believed they could survive in the desert.  He believed they could conquer the giants in the Promised Land.  He was about 40 when they left Egypt so no telling how long he had believed he would be released.  He wandered through the desert for a couple of years eating mostly manna believing he would reach the Promised Land.  He believed that his people could defeat the giants, because God had already said the land was theirs.  For Forty years he believed that God would give him land, and the power to take it, and God rewarded his faith.

What are the things God has promised us that we should believe in?  Do I always believe in them?  Am I willing to wait a couple of years for His answer? Am I able to wait 40 years without giving up?