Caleb's Faith

I heard such a great word from the Lord this morning. First of all, I went to my first affirming church today :-) It so blessed my soul to know that I, little old me, could enter a space of worship without condemnation of fear of the use of my Bible to condemn me. Talk about lifting a weight I didn't know was there?!?!?

Pastor Coates preached about faith this morning. First he tied it into the historical context of being Black History Month and how far Black people have come. He talked about how far we have come by faith alone and how faith has kept us and it will keep keeping us. His message was based in Joshua 14:6-14 which talks about Caleb. Caleb lived a life faithful to God, fearful of God, and produced fruit through God. He was one of the spies sent to see the Promised Land and his report was favorable along with Joshua. All the other spies, totally 10, were afraid of those who inherited the land God promised them. But Caleb had a faith that gave him the ability to see in and with the spirit what cannot be seen in the natural. The major characteristics of his faith were

1. A Committed Faith: He wholeheartedly followed God
- demonstrated complete fidelity to God
- was so commited to God that he was determined to keep the distance between himself and God as small as possible.
- also he waited 45 years for what God spoke to him to come to pass and he didn't waver.

I was personally challenged by the idea of waiting. Y'all know I love to write about waiting but its hard. Its sho nuff hard. Its hard every day. Its hard in the midnight hour. Its wake me up out of my sleep hard sometimes. But the question is does my faith waver in the waiting? And the answer is yes. Despite the fact that God had been so very faithful in my life, I still waver and that's something I need to work on. Its so hard in the waiting but I am committed and need to be more deeply.

2. Courageous Faith: I'm blessed because God chose to bless me.
- he observed his aging as a sign that God was keeping him
- he also sad the same God that was in the past is here now and He's still able.

This blessed me because I sometimes look at the situation I'm in and I don't see how its going to be fixed BUT I've got a big God and little problems. I've got a God who is able.

3. Confident Faith: Not any mountain but this one!
Where does courage and commitment come from in faith?
When God has made me a promise, He's always come through. He did in the Bible, He has in my life, and He will continue to do so. I need to be more confident in what God has said to me. I so often want more confirmation but God has been very clear with me about a few things.I've got to hold fast to the word He has already revealed in my life. I've also got to know that some things are just for me. The things He's promised me are mine. Its not any mountain, but this particular mountain. God really stirred me on this one and dropped something in my spirit that I had been toying with but hadn't fully come around to. God often asks me to make physical leaps of faith, like an action. There was an action He asked of me and I was obedient with zero discomfort about it. I thought this step would have been so hard but it wasn't. God is so faithful in His preparation of His people for the things He wants them to do. The Lord abides in us as we abide in Him. I'm so glad to be closing any gaps between me and Him.

4. Conquering Faith: Even though Caleb was inheriting the land, he had to do something to conquer the promise from God.

This was an interesting one because it reminded me that there are sometimes situations where being confident, committed, and courageous aren't enough. To walk into my promise I'm going to have to have a conquering attitude because what's mine is mine and what God has for me is only for me. I struggle with this sometimes because I'm not necessarily the most assertive person. I think knowing that God is giving me "this mountain" will change that for me in the future. I'm going to get everything God has for me.