TOSSED LIKE THE WAVES OF THE SEA? NOT!
Joshua 16:10 They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.
In Deuteronomy 20:16-18 it says, “However in the cities of the nations the Lord
your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them - the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites - as the Lord your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.
God knew the tendency of the Hebrews to struggle against his will. It was for this very reason that God renamed Jacob to Israel. Israel means struggles with God, and to this day Jews all over the world struggle with God’s choice of the Messiah for them. They had grown to become a nation in Egypt where idols were commonplace, and before they got very far out of Egypt they had Moses’ brother Aaron make them a golden calf to worship. The Hebrew people were constantly walking with one foot toward the Promised Land of blessing and the other foot backward towards Egypt and bondage. And as you probably know these are in opposite directions! Even when Israel finally reached their Promised Land after spending forty years in the desert trying to learn to trust and obey the Lord out of the twelve spies that were sent into the Promised Land only two wanted to go in and settle there. The other ten didn’t want to go in. Because of this they would sooner go back to being slaves in Egypt. The only two that trusted God to give the land was Joshua and Caleb. They were the only ones that were seen as wholehearted for God. What a shame!
There is certainly something to be said for being wholehearted for something. Without it there will seldom be excellance. Whether it is in sports, academics, technology, a profession or whatever, a wholehearted person will always stand out. With lack of commitment there will always come disappoint. We see this with the Hebrews. Time and again they didn’t want to do God’s will, but they still wanted his approval and blessing. They wanted the Canaanites to become their slaves to make their life easier and make them feel superior, but instead they became like their slaves only to idols. They gave up the blessings of God for the bondage of rebellion. Deuteronomy 9:4,5a says, “No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations.
God did not hate the Canaanites or the other people in the land. He hated their wickedness of worshiping idols, when they could and should worship him. Now because of Israel’s lack of wholeheartedness, God’s wrath was about to come on Israel just as it had on the Canaanites and the other nations that worshiped idols.
What are you wholehearted about? Some people are that way in sports. Very seldom will you hear of a Cub’s baseball fan ever saying anything bad about them. Next year will always be better. Some people are wholeheartedly against President Barack Obama. No matter what he does it is always bad. Wholehearted people are committed people that don’t want to talk about or listen to anything that is not in line with their passion. The question for us might be is are we that way for Jesus? Do we show more tolerance with things that are more worldly than spiritual? Do we get more excited about watching Fox News and the economy than Christian broadcasting? Now I am not saying these things are wrong and antichrist! What I am saying is what things are distracting us from being wholeheartedly for Jesus.
James 1:6,7 says, “But when he asks (prayer), he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. Does this sound radical or fanatic? Well, you’re probably right! And with all the negative press about Islamic fundamentalists and radicals, you may think this is not right even for a Christians. Well, let me ask you this. Would you sooner have someone pray for you in your moment of crisis that is wholehearted or like the waves from one minute believing to a state of disbelief?
Being wholehearted no matter if it is for the Cub’s or for Jesus starts and continues with a determined commitment. Anything less will end up in disappointment. So am I saying that every Christian needs to be wholehearted for Jesus. Well, yes I am! Do you expect anything less from your husband or wife? The question is where are you at in your relationship with Jesus? Are you still like a bobber on the water of life with the wind and waves blowing you every which way? Do you feel comfortable one minute doing the things of the world that you know doesn’t make Jesus happy and the next wondering why you don’t enjoy going to church, praying or talking about Jesus? Well, da! If you really believe that we are living in the last days before Jesus returns. What is keeping you from living like it. There is freedom in finally surrendering to a committed wholehearted relationship with Jesus. All it takes is to put both feet down going in the same direction and start walking. Every goal or destination starts with the first step taken. Why don’t you take that first step toward being wholehearted for Jesus today!
Prayer: Holy Spirit, please help us to always be wholehearted for Jesus. We know that if we do, we too like Joshua and Caleb will receive our reward as well.
What a great reward it will be indeed to sit at Jesus’ feet to love and worship him for all eternity! We ask this in Jesus name.
