A Different Spirit
In his book, Where the Light Divides, Fred Smith makes this statement, “We need to stay just enough at risk to remain close to God.“ Smith proposes that it is the presence of enemies that keeps God’s people in close communion with Him, obediently fulfilling His purpose in our lives. In other words, comfort tends to lead us away from the purpose to which God has called us. Correlatively, and much more important, is the tendency for our relationship with our Creator to cool and be deluded by comfortable living.
For illustration of the principle, Smith uses the kiwi bird of New Zealand. Through adaptation this bird has lost its ability to fly. Mr. Smith points to the lack of predators in the bird’s natural habitat as the reason for this change. The bird does not need to fly so its wings have become small and no longer used for the purposed design. Smith proposes, “They will never fly because there are no enemies in their lives. Like them, we want comfort, prosperity and security but God knows we need the imminent threat of an external enemy to keep us obedient.”
The purpose deluding effect of comfort is something that is cited as a general ailment of the western church. Missionaries coming out of third world countries, where miracles are prevalent, speak of God’s Spirit moving unimpeded in churches as faith is exercised daily to the benefit of the believers. There is a difference between the field and the condition of our western church. The difference is directly related to the level of comfort experienced in the relative areas.
James, the brother of Jesus, commented on trial and comfort in his letter, later to be included in the New Testament. James 1:2 states, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds”. Why? Because, as “you know” testing of “faith” produces “steadfastness”. It seems that James believed that a good trial every now and then benefits our lives. So why is so much of our existence spent attempting to produce comfort for ourselves and our loved ones? Maybe an even better question would be, why is God’s blessing in our lives most often correlated with provision, peace, comfort and abundance?
The answer is found in our perception of trials and comforts, particularly related to their respective origins. Comfort is good. It arises from our own hard work, effort, ingenuity and from the blessing of an Almighty God. Trial is bad. It comes from poverty - physical, mental and spiritual in nature. Trial is oppressive. It is hardship pressed on us unjustly in most instances. It is created by man or even Satan himself. The purpose of trial is to destroy us.
Believe me, I do not entirely disagree with these interpretations of comfort and trial. However, I think it important to note, in our current human form, comfort, whether “self made” or a blessing from God, has the negative effect of leading us away from God. Trial on the other hand, with all its ferociousness, leads us to our knees and to a closer relationship with the only One who can help us. Trial requires faith. Comfort requires nothing but self indulgence - if praise to God is not involved.
So what are we to do when, as Christians, we face trials and tribulation? Pray, pray and then pray again. What are we to do when we face comfort? Pray, pray and then pray some more. It is a reality of our earthly condition that trial will either drive us to reliance on God or cause us to completely disavow a God who is so cruel as to allow such things to happen. Likewise, comfort will produce gratitude in our hearts and praise in our mouths for such a wonderful Creator, or it may lead us astray from our God to seek the comforts we enjoy.
We must be vigilant to keep our hearts in the right place. We should thank God for trial and use it to nurture a closer, more reliant life on the Lord Jesus Christ. We should also thank God for the blessings of comfort that we experience, being sure to rightly prioritize the result of the blessing as much less than the One who provided it. This will result in a consistent and unshakeable relationship with God. To this end, I would like to take a look at a different kind of spirit and consider the impact if we chose to portray such in our own lives. A spirit like Caleb. Unlike his peers, Caleb experienced the Promise Land. Why? I’ll let God tell you:
Caleb was one of the twelve Israelite spies sent into the land of Canaan to bring back a report. It was only he and Joshua that presented a case to move forward and take the land. Caleb trusted the Word of God and had faith to believe that God would do what He promised. The two phrases I think most important in God’s description of Caleb are “a different spirit” and “followed me fully”. They both express God’s understanding that Caleb, at his core even in spirit, was different from the others in his generation. Caleb was different in that he completely trusted God. He would not let go of the promises of God. Neither would he allow the result of God’s promises to cause him to let God go. Because of this spirit in Caleb, he would see the land of promise. He would experience the full blessing of God, while others ended their days wandering in the wilderness.
Christian, we are to have a different spirit. Get this. After God’s promise to Caleb it is reported in the book of Joshua that Caleb requested the hill country of Hebron as his lot and inheritance for his family. He chose this land because it was the promised land that his “foot has trodden” (Joshua 14:9) and God had given it to him as an inheritance forever! So Caleb, 45 years after first setting foot on the promised land, believed God’s promise and selected the very land set apart for him. By the way, the land was inhabited by the Anakim - the GIANTS. This was not a problem to 85 year old Caleb. After all, Caleb considered himself just as strong as he was as a young man. What was his strength needed for? “... For war and for coming and going” (vs 11). Caleb was ready for war. He was ready for some trial with the Anakim. A different spirit indeed.
So the challenge is to us. Are we set on obtaining comfort and a trial-less life? Or do we, like Caleb, believe our God and His promises so much that, no matter our age, we are ready to take on the trials. Will we live with a “different spirit”, a spirit that brings glory to God in blessing and in trial?