Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’ “Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.) Then the land had rest from war.
– Joshua 14:6-15
Devotion
We are living in a culture that is becoming increasingly “post-Christian.” Recent studies have revealed that in the last several years the religious ideology that has grown the most is the category of the “religiously unaffiliated.” Our world is increasingly rejecting God as well as His standards and morals. Yet we are still called to be faithful. It can be difficult to stand strong against the flow of the crowd, but that is what we must do if we are to be devoted to God wholeheartedly.
Way back in Numbers 13, Moses sent twelve spies to check out the Promised Land. The overwhelming report was that the land was fantastic, but that the people of the land were far too strong and terrifying to expel. Ten of the spies gave the opinion that they should not attack these people even though the Lord had commanded it. Caleb and Joshua stood apart and displayed their trust in the Lord to do what He had promised (Numbers 14:6-9). It is because of this act of faithfulness and trust, that Caleb is now being rewarded. As Moses said, “The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.” That wholehearted devotion is what God desires for each of us. We can see from this moment recorded for us in Joshua 14, that it is always worth it to be devoted wholeheartedly, even when it means going against the crowd.
The Big Question
Is there any aspect of your life where you are displaying less than a wholehearted devotion? How might God be calling you to change that?
Conclude in prayer and silence, reflecting on what you’ve learned.