DESTINY OVER DESERT

By Pastor John Francis

Numbers 14:24 English Standard Version (ESV)

24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

You are prepared for destiny and promise.

As we consider a new way of life during this time of uncertainty, let’s reflect upon Caleb.  There are many things that Caleb must have used to guard his heart.  He was able to have a different spirit after years of walking in the wilderness with those who walked in a negative way.  I am sure Caleb learned what not to do and how not to act by observing the unhealthy lifestyles of those journeying with him.

Yet, God stated that Caleb had fully followed Him.  God saw Caleb’s desire to walk interconnected with Him, and the virtues of God’s heart became the rhythm of his own heartbeat.  The results would be to lead Caleb into the land Promised Land.  The lifestyle that Caleb lived would be the pathway  to bring His descendants to their inheritance.

Let us all be reminded by Caleb of how to walk in difficult times, with difficult people, with uncertainty before us and maintain a focus on the destiny ahead.  Caleb wanted the promiseland.  His desire for the greater thing that was ahead of him, pulled him out of the desert he was in.  During a similar time of having to rethink about how to do life, we must allow God to make the necessary adjustments within our hearts.  Things have changed, and  we are unaware of what will remain and what will be a part of the way of life as it used to be.  We are unaware of what the new normal may look like.

However, we can remember the example we have in Caleb in this season of transition.  We can allow the Holy Spirit to drop creatively into our hearts the desires and concerns of the Father’s heart. There is nothing that God cannot lead us through as He showed through His relationship with Caleb.  We may discover new strengths that God is forming inside us, and we should look for something of His Divine nature that we can focus on that will stabilize us during transitional times.  He will be the source of our strength;  He will be the source of our joy.  He will be that brother that sticks closer than a friend.  He will be our rock, our healer, and our victory.  He will be our focus when things are out of focus.  He will be the calm in the storm. He will also be our comforter.  He has prepared each of us for this moment and He will prepare us for the next.  If we align ourselves with His Spirit, He will always lead us to Himself.  He will lead us to experience Him in ways we never have before.  He has empowered us!

POWER OF TESTIMONY

During a difficult season of ministry that I did not ask for in 2009, I experienced the life of Christ that I would not have chosen for myself.  This is the time when the economy crashed.  Melanie and I pastored a congregation that had just moved into a brand new multi-million dollar building.  Our previous lead pastor retired prior to the crash and we were asked to serve as    lead pastors. When this crisis hit everything and everyone was affected.  I had to pastor a church through a storm that I did not create nor did I ask for.  The pressures were extreme for us and our young family.  During that season of what seemed to be an unraveling in our lives, we later discovered the inner strength that God had forged in us.  He was building stronger foundations of His nature within us that would mark our lives.

He is the maker of our destiny. As we submit ourselves to Jesus, He lives boldly within us. As He was with Caleb and with Melanie and I, He will lead and carry you through!