Choosing a Different Spirit in a Negative World
Success Redefined
No one sets out in life to be a failure. Yet many of us, even as believers, settle for far less than God’s best because we misunderstand success. Too often, we measure it by the world’s standards—titles, wealth, recognition—rather than God’s standard of faithfulness and obedience.
Winston Churchill once described success as “going from one failure to another without losing enthusiasm.” In other words, winners don’t let failure define them. They understand that failure is an event, not an identity.
But how often do we internalize failure as who we are? One mistake, one setback, one disappointment, and suddenly we carry labels God never gave us: unworthy, incapable, defeated. That mindset traps us in waffling between faith and doubt or whining about what we lack. But God invites us into something better: a winner’s mindset rooted in His promises.
Meet Caleb: A Different Spirit in a Negative Crowd
To see what this looks like, we turn to one of Scripture’s shining examples: Caleb. Born into slavery in Egypt, Caleb rose to become one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to scout the Promised Land. After forty days of reconnaissance, the spies all agreed the land was as God promised, flowing with milk and honey. But then the conversation shifted to the obstacles: giants in the land, fortified cities, overwhelming odds.
Ten of the spies panicked. Their fear spread like wildfire through the camp: “We can’t do this. We’re like grasshoppers compared to them!” Fear became contagious, stirring Israel into open rebellion against Moses and Aaron. They even talked of choosing a new leader and returning to Egypt.
But Caleb had a different spirit. While the crowd magnified the giants, Caleb magnified God. “We are well able to overcome it,” he declared (Numbers 13:30). God Himself later testified, “My servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows Me wholeheartedly” (Numbers 14:24). While the rest of his generation perished in the wilderness, Caleb’s faith positioned him to inherit the promise.
This “different spirit” is precisely what we need in our own culture of waffling and whining. Caleb shows us what winners do.
Winners Shut Down the Noise
The first lesson is clear: winners know when to silence the noise. Caleb wasn’t naïve—he saw the giants too. But he refused to let fear and negativity have the last word. Sometimes the loudest voices around us are the most discouraging. Whiners multiply problems; winners magnify God’s promises.
Joshua learned this lesson well. Decades later, when he led Israel to conquer Jericho, he commanded the people to remain silent for six days as they marched around the city. Why? Because he knew they would have talked themselves out of victory if they gave voice to their doubts. Only on the seventh day did he command them to shout in triumph—and the walls came tumbling down (Joshua 6:10–16).
In our day, “shutting down the noise” may look like limiting toxic voices, carefully choosing the media we consume, or ignoring the critics who only tear down. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “It is not the critic who counts… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”
Winners learn the art of selective hearing; tuning out fear and cynicism to hear God’s voice clearly.
Winners Move Forward Anyway
Second, winners refuse to live in reverse. Life has only two gears: forward and backward. Israel saw giants and chose reverse: “Let’s go back to Egypt. At least there we didn’t have to fight.” They forgot that Egypt meant slavery under a cruel Pharaoh. Fear distorted their memory, making bondage seem easier than freedom.
God has not called us to live in the past. He calls us forward. “Tell the people of Israel to go forward” (Exodus 14:15). Winners embrace that command even when obstacles loom large.
Faith often feels like following God’s GPS. You enter the destination, but then you decide to take a shortcut. Soon you’re lost, delayed, or detoured. Yet the GPS doesn’t quit, it simply recalculates. God works the same way. Even when we take wrong turns, He offers U-turns through repentance and keeps directing us toward His promises. Faith doesn’t live in reverse; it always moves forward.
Winners Wait Without Quitting
But moving forward doesn’t always mean moving fast. Caleb’s obedience didn’t spare him from forty years of wilderness wandering caused by others’ unbelief. The choices of others affected him deeply. Yet Caleb did not grow bitter toward God or his people. He didn’t spend decades complaining, “This isn’t fair.” Instead, he kept believing.
Some of you know what it is to suffer setbacks because of someone else’s irresponsibility. It wasn’t your fault, but you live with the consequences. The temptation is to camp out in victimhood. But Caleb shows us a better way: to trust God’s promises even in delay.
Decades later, Caleb could still say, “I wholly followed the Lord my God” (Joshua 14:8). Like the Kansas City Chiefs counted out by sports analysts in 2023, Caleb stayed the course when others quit. Winners wait without quitting. They keep trusting, keep serving, and keep believing God will come through.
Winners Fight for the Finish
Faith isn’t passive; it’s a fight. The gift of salvation is free, but the life of faith requires perseverance. By the time Caleb was 85, he had waited four decades for God’s promise. Yet his resolve had not dimmed. “Give me this mountain,” he declared (Joshua 14:12). He wasn’t ready to retire to a rocking chair. He was ready for battle.
Winners understand that the finish line requires as much focus as the starting line. Athletes don’t quit in the fourth quarter; they leave it all on the field. In the same way, Christians are called not just to begin the race of faith, but to finish strong. That means fighting spiritual battles, standing firm in convictions, and investing in others so they, too, can share in the victory of Christ.
It’s Never Too Late to Win
Caleb’s declaration at 85 reminds us: it’s never too late to live as a winner in God’s kingdom. Consider Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses. She spent most of her life as a farmer’s wife and mother. At 78, arthritis forced her to give up embroidery. Encouraged by friends, she picked up a paintbrush instead. With no formal training, she began painting rural scenes from memory. By her 80s and 90s, her work hung in galleries worldwide. One of her paintings even sold for over a million dollars.
Like Caleb, Grandma Moses embraced a new chapter of purpose when most people would have settled into decline. She reminds us that God is not finished with us, no matter our age or circumstances. It’s not too late, too hard, or too impossible when God is with us.
Let’s Be Different
So what’s the takeaway? Wafflers avoid commitment. Whiners magnify problems. Winners live with a different spirit. They shut down the noise. They move forward anyway. They wait without quitting. They fight for the finish. And they trust God’s promises all the way to the end.
Maybe you’ve been waffling between faith and doubt, or whining about obstacles that seem too great. Today, God invites you to something better. Don’t settle for Egypt. Don’t wander endlessly in the wilderness. Be like Caleb. Choose the winner’s mindset. Choose to be different.
Because in the end, victory doesn’t belong to the wafflers or the whiners. It belongs to those who trust God fully, follow Him wholeheartedly, and finish the race well. It belongs to the winners.
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