Following God

The other day I was reading in Joshua Chapter 14 and paused on this verse:

So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly (Joshua 14: 14)

I focused on this verse for a few minutes and pondered the idea of what it really means to follow God. We can often use those words in our own advice to young believers who are wondering what to do with their life. “Just follow God,” we might say. But what does that look like? In the particular instance of this verse in Joshua, the story is about Caleb. Caleb was one of the 12 spies that went into the Promised Land to see if God was telling the truth. Ten spies came back with a report of gloom—the land was filled with powerful people and fortified cities. Joshua and Caleb came back with an optimistic report—the land was as good as God said it would be and they trusted God to help them take it.

So, what do we take from this story about the concept of following God? It really is about following through with what God has told us to do. That is what Joshua and Caleb did. Through Moses, they heard God’s promise about a land flowing with milk and honey and that the Israelites were to enter into this land. They were so focused on that promise that they didn’t even pay attention to the distractions the other spies observed.

The other part of this verse that made me pause is the word “wholeheartedly.” It is not just about a “robotic” form of following God, it is about following God with your whole heart. Do a search in the bible to find out how many times we are told to “love the Lord your God with all your heart.” There are nine times. Jesus specifically instructs us three times in the New Testament. In Mark 12: 30-31, Jesus answers a teacher who is asking what is the greatest commandment. His response is:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.

In fact, in that verse Jesus gives us the ingredients for following God: Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. That’s it. What if you have never heard God say something so clear as what Joshua and Caleb heard about the promised land? You can certainly take this one verse and find enough instruction in it on following God.

I remember hearing about a missionary who woke up every morning and asked God what he should do. If he had a clear impression during his prayer, that is what he focused on that day. If it wasn’t so clear that day, he went back to Mark 12: 30-31, loved God with his whole heart and loved his neighbor as himself. It’s about follow through and it is about being wholehearted—that is how we follow God.

Amazed by His Love,

Terence