We’re not as good as them.” “They are better than us.” “We cannot beat them.” If you enjoy playing team sport, it is inevitable that you will hear or think these types of comments. I love playing sport, especially basketball. What I do not love is negative talk. I hate it with a passion.
When the game is close, I do not want to get into a half-time huddle and start talking about how much better the other team is. That type of talk is just setting yourself up to lose.
The main objective of a huddle is to readjust your focus. I have been a part of a few good comebacks in my sporting career. They all began in the huddle.
Earlier this year my team was down by 18 points at half-time. The score on the board can impact your confidence on the court. Our team had been taking good shots, they just were not going in the basket. A moment that changed the trajectory of the game was during a time-out. We rallied together and recognised we were not playing to our strengths. The opposition was fitter and faster than us and we tried to play according to their strengths. In this huddle we affirmed each other, and reminded each other we could win. Our focus going into the next half was to concentrate on our strengths and when we missed a shot, we told each other “It’s okay, next one.”
We ended up winning that game by a three-pointer. If you saw us playing that second half you could not tell we were the same team from the first half. There was a major shift in our attitude. In the first half, we felt frustrated when the referee missed a foul call against us. Our body language spoke volumes—when we missed a shot, we would shake our heads. It’s easy to keep composure when you’re winning yet when you’re losing it’s a lot more challenging.
In the huddle our focus was not the scoreboard. Our focus was not on how good the opposition was. We did not focus on each other’s mistakes from the first half. We focused on how well we knew our team could play. We focused on the right thing.
Caleb is an interesting figure who is only mentioned a few times within Scripture. The impact Caleb makes though speaks volumes of his character; a character founded in trusting God.
In Numbers 13 we find the story of an expedition to Canaan. God tells Moses, “Send men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe, send one of its leaders.” So, from that command Moses does as God says and he picks out 12 men—one from each tribe—men who are also leaders. Caleb is one of the leaders selected. He is representing the tribe of Judah. As the story continues Moses gives them Instructions to assess the land while they are there. From Numbers 13:18-20, Moses tells them of things to look out for. One in particular is found in verse 18: “See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.” Hold on to that verse—we will come back to it.
These men came back from exploring the land after 40 days. They come back to the Israelite camp giving their report of what they saw and experienced.
Imagine you are one of the people in camp finally getting a chance to hear what the land is like. Canaan was the land God promised to Abraham long ago and the Israelites growing up would have heard stories about how they would one day inherit this land. Picture the eagerness. The excitement. I imagine every one, from child to elderly, filled with so much joy to hear a great report.
When the men gave their report, it started off positive: “We went into the land which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.” The remainder of the report ends in negativity. The men start to list how powerful the inhabitants of Canaan are, how heavily fortified the cities are and how large it is.
Caleb, unsettled by the negative reports, takes this opportunity to speak up. “Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ’We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it’” (v30). The men who went with Caleb responded and said they could not attack those people for they were stronger. And the Bible confirms in verse 32 “. . . they spread a bad report” about the land and all their findings.
It is important to note that Caleb silenced the people. Meaning he stopped Israel’s negativity. It does not say he politely asked, “Please quieten down, I want to say something.” The Bible says “Caleb silenced the people . . . ” it goes to show who Caleb was. Caleb was a leader. We find that this quality is common among leaders. The ability to change the focus. The ability to take charge. My thought at the time when reading this story was that in this first speech Caleb never mentions God. But he must have been thinking we have God as he encourages the people that they should certainly go up to the Promised Land for they can take it.
He was fully confident in God and confident God would do what He said He would.
I wish I could say it stopped there, after Caleb’s intervention, but Numbers 14 continues to describe the negative fallout from their bad reports.
It seems they began to argue with Caleb and later that night, all of Israel came together and they wept, and grumbled against Aaron and Moses, saying things such as, “If we only had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness!”
Again Caleb, this time with the support of Joshua, enters the scene. They tear their clothes and plead with the people. The land is “exceedingly good” they tell them. “If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land,” (v8) they cry.
“Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
Their faith is absolute. Caleb tells his people God has given the land to them. All they need to do is claim it.
His focus was not on the challenges facing him; his focus was on God’s promises. Caleb’s focus was on the promised land.
We only have a few more mentions of Caleb in the biblical narrative but each time he is mentioned, his focus remains on mission: taking the promised land.
As I write this article, I am currently sitting on a couch with my leg propped up in a brace. It’s easy to focus on the things I cannot do. It’s easy to feel sorry for myself too. What I am choosing to do during this time of healing is to focus on who God is. The promises He gives. God will restore me. God is with me. God has made a way.
It’s important to know that in this life we will experience hardship. It’s inevitable. You may be experiencing adversity and challenges right now that seem overwhelming. The belief there is no way out seems easier to hold onto than to remain hopeful.
What I know is the enemy is the greatest liar. He deceives us and leads us to believe our circumstances will be forever. Yet Paul tells us we are more than overcomers through Jesus (see Romans 8:37). When we focus on the promises of God, the way we see life changes. The way we see challenges changes. The way we see ourselves changes. Let’s focus on God’s promises not our problems. For God never breaks His promises and He won’t start now.
SJ Foaga is a theology student at Avondale University.
