Rest in the Lord

"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. Numbers 14:24 KJV

The book of Hebrews encourages us to labor to enter into the rest of God, which means we cease from worry and concern and trust the Lord Jesus fully to fulfill the promises He has made. But this is a hard thing to do when there is turmoil all around. It takes dedication to pray and study and meditate on the Word to keep our faith strong. 

The Old Testament picture of entering into the rest of God is Israel entering into the promised land after fleeing captivity in Egypt. If you read the book of Numbers, you will see a great story about how Moses sent twelve spies into the land, one from each tribe, to scout things out and see if things were as good and wonderful as God had promised. Well, the scouts did just that, and discovered the land was indeed a good and prosperous land, flowing with milk and honey. They even brought back a vine of grapes that was so large, two men had to carry it on a pole!

And yet, there was a problem. There were giants in the land, and as much as God had promised the land to Israel and was truthful in the goodness of it, the fear of those giants made ten of the scouts give a negative report. They spread dissension in the camp and fear spread like wildfire. The entire nation of Israel cried out in anguish, angry that God had brought them so far, only to have them destroyed by giants. Much to Moses' dismay, they made plans to choose a new leader and return to Egypt!

But the other two scouts, Joshua and Caleb, believed God's promises despite the giants in the land. Numbers 14:6-9 KJV records as follows: And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, [which were] of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, [is] an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they [are] bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD [is] with us: fear them not.

Instead of listening to Joshua and Caleb and reasoning with the truth, the people sought to stone them. Have you ever been in a situation where irrational fear causes men's reasonings to fly out the window? This is so true, especially when God's promises are called into question. The giants in our lives--the wind and waves and storms of life--make us question what God has said, causing us to shrink back in fear and choose the comforts of bondage over freedom.

Joshua and Caleb were different than the other Israelites. They rested in the Lord. They believed what God had promised, despite what the majority said. They weren't swayed by fear, but held firm that much more when threatened with stones. As God said of Caleb in Numbers 14:24, they were men of a different spirit who obeyed God fully. As a result, they were the only two of that entire generation of people who entered into the promised land. Unfortunately for them, they had to wait for the others to die out first, but when the time came to enter, they went in victorious!

Be like Joshua and Caleb and not those ten spies. Rest in the Lord and believe His promises, no matter what you see around you or feel in your emotions or body. Fear is real, but we don't have to rest in it. Rest in the grace of Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, and you will enter into a wondrous land of Shalom, peace.