I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. (Joshua 14:7-8)
There’s something special about a person who is willing to do what no one else will do – a person who follows his convictions even when what he’s doing isn’t popular. Such was Caleb’s story.
When Moses sent a team into the Promised Land to examine the situation, Caleb was one of two who reported that God truly had blessed them. Caleb was willing to trust God even when his fellow Israelites weren’t willing, and that set him apart.
There are moments in life when we all have to make decisions that are unpopular.
The question is: will you run your decision through the grid of what God wants or through the grid of what makes others happy?
Sometimes the two intersect, but many times they don’t. Have the courage to say, “though none goes with me, still I will follow.”
Father, it’s so easy to be enticed by the benefits of pleasing man over the benefits of pleasing You. In those moments when I can’t do both, please help me to look to the eternal over the temporal, and let me seek to do what’s right over what’s popular. Give me the courage to stand strong, and help me to see the situation through Your eyes.
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