Numbers 14:24: “But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.”

January 24th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Of the 12 men sent to spy out the land, only Joshua and Caleb came back with a good report. They alone believed that despite the size and strength of the men in the land, God was able to give it to them. Here in Numbers 14, notice that the Lord called Caleb, “My servant Caleb.” God would later, in Joshua 14, reward Caleb because he had faithfully obeyed and was willing to follow the Lord wherever He led. Caleb was a humble man who feared and trusted God completely.

The people, however, were not willing to listen to the encouraging and pleading words of Caleb and Joshua. They had no faith at that moment, they simply didn’t want to follow Moses, and they didn’t want to trust God. The scary part was that God would allow them to go back into the wilderness if they demanded it. The result was not pretty. They and their children’s bones were scattered across the desert. God won’t force us to obey him either.

So what was different about Caleb? God said, he “followed Me fully.” This is the secret and should be the goal of every one of us, to follow God fully, to follow completely, without a divided heart or bad attitude. Following the Lord cheerfully, consistently, without murmuring, and without arguing with Him is no small thing. If we would follow God fully, we must also have a different spirit, one different from the spirit of the world and from our own natural spirit. We need the Spirit of God directing and guiding our lives. We need the Spirit of God energizing and empowering our attitudes and outlooks each and every day.

“LORD, we look for Your Spirit to move supernaturally through our lives this day. May You be able to say of us, at the end of this day, that we followed You fully.”