Selective Hearing

Numbers 14:24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

2 Corinthians 2:11 I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.

The spies went into the land to see the resources, to learn of the inhabitants, and to bring back encouragement for the people of Israel who would be fighting the battles. These men who were forerunners were each the leaders of their tribes as well as heads of their families. But the majority of them were more aware of what they saw and heard from their enemies than of the works and words of God which they had witnessed and lived through. Most of these men, though they led tens of thousands among each of their tribes, allowed the newness and strangeness of the situation to create a spirit of fear inside them.

Caleb, who was the leader of the tribe of Judah, kept the promises of God foremost in his thoughts. He walked in a spirit, an attitude, of faith, and might, and courage, and truth; the fear in Caleb's heart was the reverential awe of the Lord God who had divided the Red Sea for them, daily brought them food, and rested by day and night as a cloud and a pillar of fire upon the Tabernacle.

Although he saw the same things his peers saw, he also saw beyond them, as Elisha would centuries later, and saw that those who were with them were greater, mightier than those who were against them.

2 Kings 6:
v.15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
v.16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
v.17 And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

The others in the reconnaissance team did not trust the promise of God and brought a false report that weakened the hearts of the people listening. As a result, those men died right there and then at the hand of God, and all the fighting men who turned back for fear for their children and wives finished out their lives in the wilderness without receiving the promise, and their children, for whom they feared, were the ones who conquered the land, with Caleb and Joshua leading them.

Hold strong to God's promises. Don't let circumstances sway your trust in God's word and His power to accomplish what He has spoken in your life. Let Him be the One to lead you, not the politicians or the financiers or the news casters or the neighbors or co-workers or family members. Let the Word that you read each day, and the soft gentle voice of the Spirit that answers as you speak to your Father and open your heart to Him in daily communion, lead you step by step and be a light to your path.

He is faithful and trustworthy. Remind Him of how He has met your needs and provided for you, protecting you when events were out of your control. Rehearse what you have to be thankful for and grateful about, and let His hand direct your steps through the day, each day, and you will see the plan of God in your life take shape. Be of a different spirit from those around you -- be of the Spirit of God.

Father God, we turn to You in thanks and praise, for You are the one who has kept us and is still leading us. You are in charge, You are on the throne, You prepare the way, You have conquered the enemy. We simply follow as You direct and the walls that were so solid and formidable collapse before us. The river that is raging at flood tide dries up as we set foot into it. Thank You, Lord, that as we focus on You and listen to You and "follow You wholeheartedly" in the spirit that was in Caleb, You never forsake us or leave us.

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