MARCH TO A DIFFERENT DRUMMER
Prayer: Lord You have ordained my steps, laid out my path. Help me to follow Your lead and march to the beat of Your heart today.
Scripture: But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it… Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. Numbers 14: 24 & 30 NIV
Sometimes reading from the Old Testament can remind us how it feels to be students who are learning to read or who struggle with reading. That is NOT the point of today’s lesson however, but give your best shot to the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the Promised Land from Numbers Chapter 13.
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea whom Moses named Joshua, son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
That was a mouthful! Can you imagine calling attendance every day with that roll?
Anyway, God promised that He would give them this land. He told Moses to send them to check it out so they could come back and tell the others how awesome it was and get the rest of the people excited and ready to move on. But what happened? Instead of rallying the people to trust God and move forward, all but two of them came back and said there is no way we can do this.
They complained that they were like grasshoppers compared to these people who were much stronger than they were. They completely discounted the size and strength of their God, the Creator of heaven and earth, to fulfill His promise. All of them did this except for Caleb and Joshua who marched to a different drummer than all the rest. They had to stand against all of these other men and say, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” While all of the other men were stirring up trouble and fear, Caleb was trying to silence the crowd and encourage them. Scripture tells us that the other men “spread a bad report” about the land and the impossibility of their success throughout the people.
Then God had something to say, He had had enough. There was too little faith, too little trust, too much whining, and too many naysayers. Enough was enough! God told Moses that not a single one of the Israelite adults would go into the Promised Land except Caleb and Joshua. Ultimately they crossed over and led the next generation into the Promised Land with great victories.
We must learn a lesson or two from them. If we want to trust God with the calling that He has placed on our lives as educators then we must realize His promise of success if we have faith and follow Him – no matter what everyone else is saying. No matter what bad reports are being spread, no matter what group is coming against you to be the best you possibly can. No matter how big the task you must be the one called out to “march to the beat of a different drummer.”
God has ordered your steps, laid out your path and put the beat in your heart. That is the way you must go. The world follows the desires of itself. Those that are of this world ask, “What’s in it for me?” and “What’s everyone else doing?” and “How can I get to where I want to go for my gain and my glory?” You have been called to follow God, to sacrifice for others, all to His glory. That is something that those who do not know Jesus do not understand. Not only will they not go with you, they, like the other spies with Joshua and Caleb, will try to keep everyone else from going too.
It is up to you to be a Caleb. In life, at school, everyday; you must do what everyone should be doing – but are not. If it is God’s calling, if it is best for your students, if you are going to have to work harder or sacrifice more, if lives will be changed because of it – march to that beat!
My prayer for you is that you will march to the beat of God’s heart.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]