Explore
Numbers 13“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5There be giants ahead! You can imagine the conversation Caleb had, right? Giants? Nah, I see possibilities! I love this because so often I can hear myself being the bloke who only sees the giants in a situation. The difficulty, the cost and the struggle this path is going to be. But there is another way to see stuff, still realistic about the giants but with a deep conviction and hope, not just some flippant optimistic fluff. Idea 1: Conviction I think one of the things Caleb had was an absolute conviction that he knew God was for him, with him and would be faithful if Caleb wholeheartedly followed God. This is rare and exciting to think about. I am often a bloke of little conviction, in sport, effort and loads of other ways in my life. Conviction is a deep and rooted movement of our hearts and minds that leads to solid and consistent action. Conviction. Do you have conviction that God loves you? Is for you and will fight with you in life? Do you have conviction that a home has been prepared for you on the other side of this human life? Do you have conviction that the mountain or hill you know God has promised you that you will climb will be climbed? Idea 2: Opportunities Not only do we need to be this sort of man, we also need to be this sort of man for other blokes too. Men of conviction who will stand in the gap at times with us, men who will be at the other end of the phone when our worlds have caved in who will hold the line, with conviction and unshakable certainty that the sun will shine again. We need to be this sort of man too, men who can speak conviction over the lives of other men. When all around see the giants, we can be the men who see opportunities and possibilities.
Idea 3: Wisdom I started off this study with a reading from James about wisdom because this is so important in our lives as we seek to work out and discover more about the life of faith. Caleb had guys around him chucking in their ideas, he would have had his own feelings, thoughts, ambitions and plans but I think he also had wisdom that comes from a relationship with God. A clarity, an ability to hold the line, see the correct play and hold with conviction the path and journey ahead. The cool thing about this Bible verse in James, is that if you need this sort of wisdom, ask for it!
Action
Do you need some wisdom at the moment, do you need this direction? Perhaps today spend a moment asking God for this stuff and ask God to provide the wisdom you need.