Every year in September and October, giant bull red drum move into the Pamlico Sound in North Carolina. Growing up to fifty inches long, they are quite a trophy to catch. One summer, my buddy Randall and I decided to go after some of those big red drum. We put in at Oriental and headed to Gum Thicket Shoal. The bluebird skies were gorgeous, but the wind was blowing steadily and the water was choppy. We made it to the shoals, and the first thing we did was drop an anchor. There was no way we were going to stay in place on the shoals in the wind and the waves without it. An anchor is invaluable if you plan to fish a specific place on a windy day or hold fast in swift-moving water. It will keep you immovable against the current.
Much like an anchor keeps a boat from drifting, our convictions are the anchors of our deepest beliefs. They keep us from being tossed about by every wind of doctrine, to quote the Apostle Paul. That is what a conviction is: a belief that grips, holds, and defines you. Al Mohler, in his book
The Conviction to Lead, puts it this way:
"Convictions are beliefs (truths) of which we are thoroughly convinced….They are not merely beliefs we hold; they are those beliefs that hold us in their grip. We would not know who we are but for these bedrock beliefs, and without them we would not know how to lead." A conviction is a "truth of which we are thoroughly convinced." And for something to be true, it has to be true for all people, in all places, for all times. Which means that our most strongly held convictions should be based on the unwavering truth of God's word and anchored in biblical truth. Why? Because God is immutable. That means he never changes. His truth and his word are true for all people, in all places, for all times.
Biblical convictions will weather you in any storm. They will keep you from drifting off course.
There is an amazing account in the Old Testament of two men who had bedrock biblical convictions. Joshua and Caleb were men who trusted God with their lives for the full extent of their lives. As we study the account of their return from spying out the land of Canaan in Numbers 13, we begin to understand the depth of their convictions.
We learn through eye-witness accounts of the spies that the Promised Land was everything and more of what God had promised them. They confirmed the land was flowing with milk and honey, holding up fruit samples taken from the land to confirm the fullness of its bounty. The land only had one problem, and it became the focus of the report. There were giants in the land (descendants of Anak). This terrified ten of the spies. The people lived in heavily fortified cities and towns, and they appeared to be a powerful people. Standing in contrast to the other ten spies, Joshua and Caleb gave a good report to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel. Caleb tries to silence the crowd and wants to "go take the land at once," stating, "we can certainly conquer it." And in this statement we see the first of five biblical convictions Caleb and Joshua held in regard to Jehovah God. First,
They Believed in the Providence of God
Joshua and Caleb knew that God had prepared this land specifically for the Israelites. Deuteronomy 6 says,
Deuteronomy 6:10-12
10 “The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. 11 The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.
Joshua and Caleb knew this promise and understood the providence of God. In Numbers 14:8, they state, “If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us safely into that land.” In other words, this is God's plan being fulfilled right before us! We just need to be obedient, and God will do what he said he will do. God is in charge and he brought us to this place, and he alone will see us through it. Second,
They Believed in the Protection of God
It was God's providence that brought them to the promised land. It was God's protection that was going to allow them to conquer the land. They state to the assembly, “They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” - (14:9) They tell the assembly, "God is on our side, protecting us, why should we be afraid of them. They should be the ones who are worried!" They were not afraid of the giants and feared even less the peer pressure of the other spies. Joshua and Caleb held fast to their convictions even when faced with the threat of death by stoning from their peers. Their unwavering belief in the protection of God eventually led Joshua and Caleb both to the Promised Land to deal with those giants face-to-face. Third,
They Believed in the Power of God
We see again in verse 9 of chapter 14, Caleb saying to the people, “Don’t be afraid of them." Afraid of who? The giants. You know why they weren't afraid of the giants? Because they had witnessed the parting of the Red Sea. Saw manna and quail fall from the heavens. Tasted water that came from a rock. Saw the Amalekites decimated. And heard God speak from the mountain. A few giants were no match for a God that had sent Pharaoh's army to a watery grave beneath the Red Sea by a word from his lips. No, those giants didn't stand a chance against the God of Israel. At least in the minds of Joshua and Caleb. Of God's power, they were thoroughly convinced.
They Believed in the Promises of God
God had promised the Israelites a land flowing with milk and honey. Joshua and Caleb not only knew that promise, but they also witnessed the fulfillment of the promise. They saw the bounty of the land and tasted of its fruits. Everything God said he was going to provide was in the land. All they had to do was take it.
They Believed in the Presence of God
The Lord is with us! - (13.9) In the years to come, standing beside the Jordan preparing to enter the land he had spied out years ago, Joshua would be reminded by God himself of this very fact. God told him he would be with him wherever he goes.
Final Thoughts
There is no greater testament to the tenacity with which Caleb and Joshua held to their convictions about God than their words recorded for us in the later years of their lives. Joshua was around 40 years old when he spied out the land of Canaan. And about 70 years later, at 110 years old, Joshua had this to say about his commitment to following the God of Israel.
Joshua 24:14-15
14 “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
Likewise, Caleb is seen at 85 years old requesting the opportunity to eradicate more giants from the land.
Joshua 14:10-12
10 “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. 11 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. 12 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 still had a lot of fight in him at 85 years old. "Give me that mountain where the giants live; we have some unfinished business to take care of." I love it. Still depending on God's power and trusting in God's providence after all those years. Rock solid, biblical conviction. Paul implores us as believers to live likewise. He says in I Corinthians 16:13-14 (NLT), “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.” The Message version puts it this way, “Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping.”
I don't know what storm you might be facing today, believer friend, but Jehovah God, in whom Joshua and Caleb anchored their faith, is still alive and well on his throne. Nothing that you are walking through currently or will walk through in the future is outside of his providence. He knows your situation, and his promises can still be trusted. Thousands of years of biblical history and the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus prove as much. He has the power to sustain you through any situation, and his presence lives within you in the form of his Holy Spirit. These are the convictions that anchor our faith as believers. May they hold you steadfast in the storms of life.
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment