Joshua Chapter 14: Verses 7-12 (NIV-UK)
I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people sink. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, “The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children for ever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.”
‘Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.’
Caleb is the ultimate example of stickability. God made him a promise when he was forty years old, and he held on to that promise, without wavering, for forty-five years. Quite amazing I think, given that the reason for the wait was due to the unbelief of others. Yet his attitude does not seem to have involved any measure of blame for that delay. Instead there’s acknowledgement of how God’s hand has remained with him in all of that time. What a testimony! Yet even now, his inheritance isn’t being handed to him on a plate. He has to take hold of it with God’s help.
How long are we prepared to hold on to God’s promises without wavering, without feeling sorry for ourselves, and without blaming circumstances or anyone else? And are we prepared to grasp hold of it, with God’s help, when the time comes? I think in this modern age, we are so used to having instant access to things, that the idea of having to wait, or even fight for what we hope for, seems quite foreign to some of us.
But the story of Caleb is in the Bible for a reason. It shows us that God always keeps His promises. It shows us that if we keep our lives right with God, and follow Him wholeheartedly, our walk with Him isn’t affected by the attitudes and behaviour of others. It shows us that age is no barrier to God using our lives, and it teaches us that we sometimes have to fight, with God’s help, to take hold of what was promised. And, importantly, it teaches us never to give up!
Dear Lord,
Thank You for the lessons learned from the life of Caleb. Thank You for all of those people I have known who have walked wholeheartedly with God their whole lives and shown their own examples of Your goodness and faithfulness. Help me to do likewise for Your glory. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.