Day 19 — A Different Spirit

“But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit it.”

— Numbers 14:24 (BSB)

After God rescued His people from Egypt, He brought them to the edge of the Promised Land. Before going in, Moses sent twelve men to spy out the land.

For forty days, the spies explored. When they came back, they brought a huge cluster of grapes so heavy that two men had to carry it on a pole! The land was amazing.

But ten of the spies were terrified. The people there were strong, they said. The cities were huge and had walls. There were giants, and next to them the spies felt like grasshoppers. We can’t do this!

The people panicked. They cried all night and talked about going back to Egypt.

But two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, spoke up. “The land we passed through and explored is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land… Do not be afraid of the people… the LORD is with us.”

Ten spies saw the giants and forgot God. Two spies saw the giants and remembered God.

The people didn’t listen to Caleb and Joshua. They even talked about stoning them! Because the people refused to trust God, they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years. But God said something special about Caleb: “My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly.”

Wholeheartedly means with his whole heart, holding nothing back.

Caleb was different. When everybody else was afraid, he trusted God. When everybody else complained, he stood firm. He wasn’t going along with the crowd.

And God kept His promise. Forty-five years later, when Caleb was eighty-five years old, he said he was still as strong as the day Moses sent him out. And he asked for the hill country where the giants lived, and he took it (Joshua 14).

Being different from the crowd takes courage. It’s easy to go along with what everyone else thinks and does. But God is looking for guys with a different spirit, guys who follow Him wholeheartedly, even when everyone else is scared.

Think about it: Why do you think ten spies saw only giants, but Caleb saw God? When have you been tempted to go along with the crowd?

Try this: Be “different” today in a good way. Speak up for what’s right, even if you’re the only one.

Dear God, give me a different spirit like Caleb’s. Help me follow You wholeheartedly, even when everyone else is afraid or going the wrong way. Help me remember that You are bigger than any giant. In Jesus’ name, Amen.