Over-flowing Onto Others

Happy Friday! Do you ever get tired of serving God? Be honest! Do you ever think to yourself, “I’m exhausted and just need a break - - God can handle things on his own today.” Do you ever get tired of waiting on God to DO something? Tired of waiting on the “reward”?

Take a look at Joshua 14:6-12 (NLT):

“A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, “Remember what the LORD said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the LORD, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the LORD my God. So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the LORD my God.’
“Now, as you can see, the LORD has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So give me the hill country that the LORD promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the LORD said.”
Caleb understood just how long it can take for God to accomplish His purpose. He was forty years old when he first went into the Promised Land as a spy along with Joshua and the other ten. Because of his faithfulness to God - - because he had refused to back down - - because he had followed the Lord wholeheartedly - - he had been promised a personal inheritance when the Promised Land was conquered! Now, forty-five years later, he was given his reward.

Caleb was still following the Lord wholeheartedly when he received his reward. He had gone through the wilderness with the rest of them. He had eaten manna day in and day out for forty years. And Caleb was one of the only two adults who were alive at the beginning of the wilderness journey to still be alive when Israel entered the Promised Land. Caleb followed the Lord wholeheartedly, all the days of his life. And, at the age of 85, he was still doing the same thing. He was so strong in the Lord that he had no fear of the giants that inhabited the land God was giving him. He knew God would defeat the giants for him! He was filled with wholehearted faith that had not wavered or slipped away since his youth.

How about you and me? Remember when you first understood that God loved you and had a plan for your life? Remember when you first asked Jesus to be your Savior? Remember your joy and your enthusiasm, your commitment to doing things His way? Remember how wholeheartedly in love with Him you were? How about today? Is your commitment weaker, or is it just as strong or stronger? Is your service to Him more or less active? Is there an over-flow of Jesus from your life onto others? Can people around you see it? Can strangers who meet you sense it? How much are you doing at PGBC or in another church to make a difference? What are you giving to your community to impact the future? Do you wake up each day and understand the opportunity God has given us to serve Him and bring glory to the name of Jesus? How wholehearted are you now?

Just like Caleb, our commitment should grow stronger, more constant, more intense as each day passes rather than slowly slipping away with the passing of time. Just like Caleb, God wants us to spend our entire lives wholeheartedly serving Him. “Over-flowing” onto others!