Caleb! What a man! He is eighty-five years old and more alive today with faith, hope, and God’s promise than when he spied out the land as a younger man. Let’s hear a sound byte of him from forty-five years earlier.
Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh…said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. (Numbers 14:6–8, NLT)
Notice what Caleb says to Joshua in our reading today…
“Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.” (Joshua 14:10–12, NLT)
Wow! This man’s life of faith has kept him from becoming cynical, grumpy, pessimistic, and tired! Think about it; He saw the promise but then had to endure Israel’s wandering, complaining, and tempting of God for forty-five years. That would get old! Forty-five years ago, he wanted to go after those giants of Anak. Still, today, he is less intimidated than he has ever been! He is still going strong; he wants victory! What a spirit! What a faith! What a hope!
Believers, there is enough wrong in the world around us to seal our spirit in a coffin, lower our faith six feet into the ground, and bury our hope beneath the sod! Just watch the news! Putting up with challenging situations can seem, and do, go long. Getting a taste of what the Lord will do but then having to patiently wait for it can make the heart sick. But all of this is only if we let it be so!
Is there a lot wrong in this world? Yes! But this world is not our home; we are strangers and pilgrims just passing through! Do we endure trials and tribulations? Yes! But they shall seem as but for a moment compared to the weight of our eternal glory coming! Waiting on the Lord does not have to make our hearts sick; it can renew our strength as it did for Caleb! How do we know these things? We know them by faith! Our faith is not a hope-so, guess-so, maybe-so, imaginative positive thought cycle! Notice what the Bible says…
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. (Hebrews 11:1–2, NLT)
Caleb’s good reputation is still going strong! How did he and a great company of others do it (Hebrews 11)? The same way we can do it!
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. (Hebrews 12:2–3, NLT)
Believers, are we still going strong?
Thank you for joining with me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Joshua 12:1-15:63.
Calebs steadfast faith encourages me.
♥️