Staying Committed to Your Dreams

Join me in a game of Bible Trivia to see if you can guess who my favorite character is in The Old Testament.

·      He had to wander around in the wilderness with unbelievers for 40 years.

·      He had a different spirit within him than those traveling with him in the wilderness.

·      At 85 years old, he was ready to possess, Hebron, the mountain God had promised him.

I am sure those clues are dead giveaways for you to shout out “Caleb” as my favorite Old Testament Bible character. Why do I like Caleb so much? The Bible says that, “he followed the Lord wholeheartedly” (Deuteronomy 1:36 NIV). Caleb was committed to reaching the fulfillment of his God-given dream and promise to him. And that, my friends, is a trait that inspires me.

Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary defines wholeheartedly as: with complete sincerity and commitment.

I think we can readily see how this term, “wholeheartedly”, applies to Caleb when we recap his story. It begins with Caleb and the Israelites being slaves in Egypt under Pharaoh’s rule. Their road out of Egypt began when Moses announced that God had commissioned him to lead them out of slavery into Canaan.

Caleb was there when-----

·      God sent plaques of frogs, flies, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness to Pharaoh to release the Israelites

·      God rolled back the waters of The Red Sea and the Israelites crossed over on dry land while the Egyptian Army drowned in the sea

·      God turned the bitter springs of Marah into sweet water

·      God fed them manna from heaven.

Caleb was also there and heard all the complaining the stiff-necked Israelites did, despite the many miracles of God’s provisions for them as they traveled. Yet, the Bible does not record a single complaint from Caleb, nor does it record any discouragement or anger toward the people he was traveling with toward the promise God had made them. Caleb pursued the God-given dream and promise with a different spirit than his fellow travelers.

Now, let’s put ourselves in Caleb’s place. I don’t know about you, but I have to confess that trying to follow the Lord wholeheartedly can become discouraging in the midst of unbelievers and naysayers who pointedly say: “Did God really give you this dream? Don’t you think you might have missed it? You really shouldn’t have followed this path.” And to be honest, discouragement can also arise while waiting on God’s appointed time for the dream to be manifested in its fullness.

But, Caleb stayed committed and was in it for the long haul. As a result, throughout this adventure of 40 years, he and Joshua were the only two who made it out of the Wilderness with the generation they started out with in Egypt. Thus, we see them crossing The Jordan River with a new generation of Israelites and marching around Jericho until its walls came tumbling down for their entrance into Canaan.

Caleb’s life helped me realize that God wants my life to be shaped by His promises and plans, not by my own rationalizations, time table, or by the opinions of the naysayers.

The more I studied the life of my favorite Old Testament character, I realized that because Caleb followed the Lord wholeheartedly, his faith had a ripple effect on his family. God had promised Caleb a homestead, not only for himself, but also for his children. (Joshua 14:9)

Joshua 15:19 records Caleb giving his daughter, Aksah, land and springs of water as part of her inheritance. His son-in-law, Othniel, became Israel’s first judge. (Judges 3:7-11)

It appears to me that the more we trust God and follow the God-given dream He has given us for our lives, our children and grandchildren will also be blessed. So, I encourage you to look past the naysayers in your life, and stay committed to your God-given dream for the long haul. It is not all about you; it is for God’s glory, and for your descendants.

Reflection

1. Have you been faced with naysayers as you pursue your God-given dream?  If so, describe what they said, and how it might have discouraged you?

2. Have you been faced with a long period of time waiting on God’s perfect timing for the manifestation of your dream to come to pass? How has this affected you?

3. How did Caleb’s “following the Lord wholeheartedly” influence you to continue your pursuit of your dream?

 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.” (Deuteronomy 1:35-36 NIV)

Martha Bush

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