“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” (Joshua 14:11, 12a).
The eighty five year old man was boldly telling the story of what happened 45 years ago. When he was 40 years old, he was one of only two spies, out of the group of twelve, who accurately reported the results about the survey of Canaan. The man was Caleb. Now, five years after the people stepped into the Promised Land, they still had to fight against the forces of the local people, in order to occupy the entire Canaan land.
Standing ahead of Joshua, Caleb accepted the area of Hebron, which was one of the regions that had many strong fortresses. The people who lived in those towns were like giants. Caleb trusted in God’s promises communicated through Moses when Moses was alive. Because of that believe, he willingly accepted the responsibility to subdue a very difficult area. Trust helped him win and Caleb succeeded in conquering this area. He became a role model to those who wanted to advance. Those who want to achieve goals must accept and overcome all challenges.
God does not accept His servants to demonstrate a weak mind, with an intent to fail, and to be fearful of hard work. Danger and hardship are a part of life for those who follow God’s way. Those who think that by following God, He will make the road easy, He will trim all the thorns, He will run the enemy away, they will be sadly mistaken. Those who dream that by following God they will inherit many benefits such as luxury and leisure in life, always have servants, and receive respect, they are also wrong. Jesus “did not a place to lay His head,” (Matthew 8:20) when He walked on this earth. We are told to “go out into the world like sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16).
The young people today need to look at the example that the elderly Caleb left behind so that they can be encouraged in spirit. Caleb was someone who followed the leading of God in all the days of his life. Even when he was old, he was still able to reap big successes.
Life always brings us inherent challenges. Will we grasp God’s promises so that we can conquer, or do we accept defeat?
Pastor Thoai Duong
Translation: Minh Merideth
