DEVELOP A STRONG CONVICTIONS FOR THE PROMISES OF GOD

SCRIPTURE:

“Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” (Joshua 14:10—12)

OBSERVATION:

            Caleb had an extraordinary and excellent spirit.  He lived for the promises of God.  God gave him a promise when he was forty years old, and forty-five years later, he has never lost sight of what was promised to him.  Even at the age of 85, his spirit never waned nor faded.  Earlier in this chapter, Caleb attributed his endurance to two things, and that was, He followed God wholeheartedly, and secondly, and he developed a strong conviction.  He had an un-waned trust in the promises of God.

            Caleb was moving about in the wilderness with the children of Israel.  A wilderness is something that is difficult to live through.  However, it wasn’t the condition that Caleb was in the kept him going.  It was the promise, the confidence and the conviction deep in his heart and the trust in God that kept him going.

            His confession challenges me.  At 85, he said, I am today, still strong as the day Moses sent him out.  I’m just as vigorous to go out and battle now as he was then.  Caleb even asks for the hill country.  He said that the Lord PROMISED HIM HILL country even when there were giants in it.  The wilderness, his age, the hill, and the giants, nothing stops Caleb.  What a conviction and trust that he had in the Lord.

            When we don’t develop a strong conviction, we settle for convenience.  When we settle for convenience, we lose the enthusiasm to overcome the challenges we face in life.  Life is always full of mountains, wilderness, and giants that can make us lose heart in the battle of life.  Caleb encouraged me today to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and to develop a strong conviction that is founded on the promise and faithfulness of God. 

APPLICATION:

            I learned today that I couldn’t control the problems outside of me.  I can’t control circumstances, but I can control how my heart responds to them.  I will continue to set my heart to walk wholeheartedly with Jesus and develop the confidence to trust God’s plans even if I don’t understand their delay. 

PRAYER:

            Jesus, thank you for your faithfulness.  Thank you for the promises that you have in my life.  I pray that you lead and guide me when I face wilderness-like situations in my life.  Help me never to lose my heart when I encounter mountainous challenges in life.  Give me wisdom, strength, and patience to see your promises come true in me.  Amen!