“But as for my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and follows me unreservedly, I will bring him into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall possess it.”
Numbers 14:24 (NAB)
Only Joshua, Caleb and a generation of youth survived that wilderness, and entered the promised land. When the Israelites first arrived at the border of the promised land, one man from each tribe was sent to scope out the land and come back with a report. Twelve men were sent, but only Caleb and Joshua returned with positive reports. Caleb had a gift of being able to encourage others to have faith and do the right thing. God referred to Caleb as a man with a “different spirit.”
The other ten only saw the negative implications, reporting that the people in the land were too big, too strong and too powerful for the Israelites to overcome. This put the majority of the people into a panic and they feared the challenges of entering the new land. They turned away from the promised land, saying that their old lives were better, even though they lived in slavery.
In the end, Joshua and Caleb were the only adults of their generation, who lived long enough to enter the promised land. They did, however, bring along an entire generation of youth. Through the leadership of Caleb and Joshua, faith and encouragement was passed on to that younger generation.
From studying Caleb’s character, a different spirit means facing every challenge with faith, over fear, and using the gifts God has given us to do for others what God has done for us.
There is a revival of faith happening among generation Z today, which includes young men and women born between 1997-2012. These young people are wholeheartedly turning to faith in God, and inspiring others to do the same. God is actually raising up a spiritual army of young believers, who have a “different spirit”, like Caleb.
According to Pew research studies, the previous years of decline in youth spirituality and church attendance across the globe, has been trending in a new direction, towards God. Generation Z youth are finding deep faith and having life changing encounters with Jesus.
There’s been a documented spike in students involved in campus ministry, an increase in youth church attendance and student baptisms. This spiritual revival spans across all denominations, whether Catholic or Protestant. Faith was once fading, but is now showing up stronger than ever in this age group. All credit goes to the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.
It required a different spirit to enter the promised land back in Caleb’s day, and it requires a different spirit today, to enter the narrow gate that Jesus talked about. (Matthew 7:13)
Generation Z has become the generation that is heeding the call, because they have that different spirit. Young people are passionately following Jesus today more than in previous generations.
Billy Graham once said, “When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God.”
Things changed five years ago, when Covid brought people to the end of different things in their lives, and affected the mental health of every generation, but something changed for the good, and the youngest among us are now turning to God.
When secular publications, like the New York Post, refers to Generation Z as the “spiritual generation”, we know there is a true move of God happening and a spiritual phenomenon taking place.
I didn’t know this was happening until a relative mentioned it to me one day, and then I searched the topic, and found it is true. I wondered how I had been so unaware of this outpouring of grace, but I figured it’s because I live in an old person’s world, and hardly know anyone in that age group. Praise God for starting a movement, and reviving faith in a generation of youth with a different spirit.
Lord, give us a “different spirit” as Caleb had and use the youngest among us to inspire faith in others as we walk that narrow path with you, sharing your love, mercy and truth with the world. Amen
