A Devotional by Pastor Cesar Castellanos
Today’s Bible Verse
“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.”
Numbers 13:30
Having a Conquering Mindset
The leaders of Israel were divided, when ten of the twelve spies returned, having taken their eyes off the promises given to them by God. They had chosen to look at their circumstances; their negativity spread like a plague that affected many people in the camp. God had to intervene rapidly by bringing judgment upon each one of the Godless leaders and removing those who had allowed themselves to be contaminated. Joshua and Caleb had a different spirit, however, a spirit of faith and conquest. As a result, they obtained the promise. They inherited the Promised Land, and were honored by God for their successful leadership. Joshua and Caleb’s way of thinking set them apart from the rest of the spies.
It is important to take into account that it is only when we refuse to accept thoughts of failure, that we are able to have a conquering mindset. A mentality of defeat and failure is geared towards destroying you, robbing you of your faith and hope. Its end result is to cripple you from doing the work of God. These thoughts make you feel miserable and lead to depression. They deceive you into thinking that everything you have ever done is meaningless, and that the only thing left to do is to curl up and die. The ten spies allowed their minds to be wrapped up in thoughts of failure when they said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are” (Numbers 13:31b).
Thoughts of insecurity, doubt and unbelief, will always make you see and focus on the impossibilities in the midst of your difficult circumstances. It will seem to you like they are giants. On the other hand, God’s thoughts will inevitably lead you to prosperity. The author of Proverbs said, “The thoughts of the diligent lead to profitas surely as haste leads to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5). A person who thinks diligently never sees failure, but is always looking forward to success. They know that if God is with them they can overcome and be victorious in all things. Remember this, “God and I are always in the majority.”
Something to Think About
“I couldn’t even memorize one short verse of Scripture, despite the fact that I had been going to church for several months.” This was Miguel’s opening line when he shared his testimony with me. “It was really frustrating for me, I wanted to speak to the people that I had won for Jesus, but I didn’t know what to say to them. Thoughts came into my head telling me that this was a consequence of the life I used to live, that drugs had destroyed the neurons in my brain, and that was why I couldn’t remember anything that I had learnt. With a lot of effort on my part, I could read a little of the Bible but, despite the fact that I invested a lot of time into it I couldn’t remember what I had read. One day, I had a brilliant idea: I took my Bible and said, ‘Lord, this book is Your Word,’ I opened it in the middle and placed it on my head. I said, ‘Lord, make your blessed word enter my mind so that I can understand it.’ ” Miguel persisted in prayer and after two months a veil fell from his mind, whatever had been a block was removed, and he started to understand the wonders of God’s Word.
The way to guard your heart is by not allowing any type of negative, impure, or incorrect thought to be harbored in your mind. Generally, a person confesses with his mouth what is stored up in his heart. We need to know, that behind every thought there is always a personality influencing it. The Apostle Paul said, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). Every time a thought comes into your mind, you first need to filter it through this verse, and if it is good, true, honest, just, etc., you can then allow it to enter.
Prayer
“Lord Jesus, thank You for teaching me to be careful with what I think about. I want to be like Joshua and Caleb, and have a different spirit – one of conquest. I know that I can only achieve this by changing the way I think. I want to know Your thoughts that are higher than mine. I desire to cultivate thoughts that exalt Your name. Amen.”
Declaration
“The key that opens the door to my mind is the revelation of the Word of God.”
Today’s Bible Reading
- Old Testament: 2 Samuel 20-21; Psalm 116
- New Testament: Mark 15:33-41; Galatians 5:1-12
