Shadows: Joshua and Caleb (Courage)
Shelby and I were watching one of our favorite movies the other night, We Bought a Zoo. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Matt Damon is talking to his son about having courage. He tells him, "All's it takes is 20 seconds… 20 seconds of insane courage, of feeling horribly uncomfortable, and you can change everything."
As I was thinking about this I thought, "You know this is true. 20 seconds of insane courage could create a miracle. 20 seconds of asking your friend if they want to come to church. 20 seconds of sharing the gospel with your teammate. 20 seconds of insane courage to walk up to one of your teachers and ask them if you can start a prayer group in their class room."
When you first give your life to Jesus everything seems nice and pleasant. The first 3 weeks are easy. But as you journey further along into the promised life that God has for you courage becomes a big requirement. It takes courage to leave the comfortable life you are used to. What happens when your friends start questioning your new belief system? When they start rejecting you for being a Christian? When that boyfriend or girlfriend that you adored so much tells you that you need to come to the party and hang out with your "real" friends and not be a weird religious freak? It's then that the line is drawn in the sand. You now have a choice. Will you have the COURAGE to leave that old life and follow Jesus?
A STORY OF COURAGE
In Numbers 13 God tells Moses, "Send men to spy out the land I am giving them. Choose a chief from each tribe to go explore." Why would God, who is all knowing, tell Moses to send men to spy out the land? It can't be so God could know how amazing the land is. It had to be for the Israelites. I believe God wanted to give them a glimpse of the land so that he could see if they were willing to have the courage to follow him. It was basically a test. In other words, God has promised each of us a life filled with hope, full of joy and fulfillment. But it is going to take courage to take the life God has for us and follow him obediently into the unknown. God has showed each of us, "Look at the life I have for you! But it's going to take courage to get it!"God is waiting to see if we will have the courage to follow him into the promised land.
So Moses chooses twelve spies. These twelve spies, who were strong chiefs (not wimpy guys), were sent to see what the land had to offer. After 40 days of spying the land they returned with a report: "We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there." (Numbers 13: 27-28)
Just like so many of us these men saw the wonderful life God had for them: "Man this life that God has for me is incredible! Look at the blessings, the joy, the hope! Check out the fruitfulness, the success he has for us! Oh look over here! What is this? Check out this! These trees are producing the largest most delicious fruit I've ever seen! Hey Joshua come over here look at this… can you believe it!" But then in the middle of all this excitement one of them saw something they didn't expect to see: "Hey guys!Shhh… Come over here! Be quiet… Look… is that what I think it is? It sure is. It's a giant of Anak! The giants ofAnak are here! We'll never be able to take this land!"
Do we not do the same? We are offered this life full of fruitfulness and can't wait to have the blessing until we see the giants of Anak: "Wait, I have to give up that?? You want me to forgive her? You want me to love him? Share the gospel with who? Really!? There's no way!" And because of fear of what we will lose we decide the wonderful life God has for us is too difficult. (Numbers 13:30) "No we can't there are giants! There are mighty fortresses!...Let's just go back to Egypt!" (Numbers 13:31-14:4). We even begin to think to ourselves, "Man, I was better off before I was saved. Egypt—the old life of being a slave suddenly becomes more appealing to us.
But not everyone shrinks back in fear. There were two spies that were courageous and believed that they could get what God had promised: "Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and said to the congregation: 'The Land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them."
Every man saw the opportunity, but only two seized it.Courage is more than seeing the opportunity. Courage is seizing it.
In verses 26 through 35 God brings judgment on the people by putting to death those who grumbled against the Lord and refused to take the promise land but promises to give Joshua and Caleb the land. Because of the Israelite's disobedience God makes them wander in the desert for 40 years until all those who grumbled died. Only Joshua and Caleb inherited the promise land. Joshua and Caleb had to have courage for 40 years! Can you imagine them coming up to the promise land boundary line in Joshua chapter one? "All this I'm going to give you! Only be strong and courageous." It takes being courageous not just once, but every day of your life to get what God has for you.
WHY WE MUST HAVE COURAGE
HOW WE BECOME COURAGEOUS…
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