Today’s reading: Numbers 31, 32, 33; Psalm 20, 50, 80, 110, 140; Proverbs 20

Numbers 32:12, “Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.”

I love this verse. What an epitaph to go on your tombstone (I don’t mean pizza either). I could only wish that someone would say of me that I “wholly followed the LORD”. I try so hard but I seem to just spin my wheels. Maybe you know what I am talking about.

So how can we “wholly follow the LORD”? I think we can find a good starting place in Numbers 32:17-18, “But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.” I think first of all if we are going to “wholly follow the LORD” we need to make a committment to follow Him. If you do not committ to something then you will not see it as important. There is no higher committment daily than to follow the Lord with all of your heart, mind and soul.

Something else that we need to do if we are going to “wholly follow the LORD” is to confess all known sin in our lives. Look at Numbers 32:23, “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” You cannot run from the consequences of sin. It will find you no matter. The worst part about it is that it not only effects you and I; but, it also effects those around us and our family. Our Church family even suffers when we are living with unconfessed sin in our lives.

Another thing that will help us “wholly follow the LORD” is to consult the Scriptures and follow His course. Numbers 33:11, “And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.” If you think you are going to “wholly follow the LORD” and you go about life and you never take another thought as to what the Lord wants you to do or where He wants you to go then you can bet your bottom dollar you are not following Him as He wants you to follow.

Lastly if we are going to “wholly follow the LORD” we need to conquer the barriers in the way. Look at Numbers 33:55, “But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.” I am not talking about the dog eat dog garbage that the usaved world does on a dailly basis to get ahead in life. We need to look out for obstacles and either avoid them or plow through them in the power of God. Notice I did not say our own power. We must conquer in the power of God. I like the words of the song “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”. It says, “I am weak; but, thou art strong. Jesus, keep me from all wrong.” In and of ourselves we are not able to overcome. We can do this by the power of the Holy Spirit living in and through us. If we are truly born again we have Him living and dwelling in us and He will help us.

Are you willing to “wholly follow the LORD”? If you are then let’s both Commit to follow, Confess besetting sin, Consult the Scriptures for guidance and Conqure in the power of God. See you at the finish line!