Be Like Caleb

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You made it! Now what?

Our Bible verse for today: “Here I am today, 85 years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then.” Joshua 14:11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be like Caleb”

Caleb is one of my Old Testament heroes and the guy I want to be like. He was the lifelong buddy of Joshua and as a young man he was one of the twelve spies Moses sent out in Numbers Chapter thirteen to scope-out the Promised Land. But unlike the ten girly-men who came back whimpering and whining about giants and fortified cities and big hairy scary potential problems, Caleb, along with Joshua, came back fired-up and ready to charge forward in the name of the Lord.

If you read the passage in Joshua chapter fourteen you will find that after the other ten told their sad story of doom and gloom, Caleb stood up and attempted to quiet and calm the now disturbed Jews. In Numbers 13:30 we read, “Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, ‘We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”

But you know the rest of the story. The people didn’t listen to Caleb, and they did not trust the Lord. So, they ended up wandering in the wilderness for forty years and most of them didn’t survive to enter the Promised Land.

But Caleb did. Not only did he survive the forty years of wandering in the desert – he thrived. Now, here in Joshua 14:11, we find him a vigorous and spunky eighty-five-years old. He was in the process of receiving his inheritance in the Promised Land and he was still ready to kick butt and take names.

I want to be Caleb! I want to be eighty-five and still kayaking, hiking, riding motorcycles, and going to the gym. I want to stay healthy, and strong, and vigorous right up until the end. At eighty-five Caleb was probably still taking the rambunctious young guys out behind the woodshed for a talking-to and a little corrective therapy. I want to be like that.

But staying strong, healthy, and vigorous doesn’t happen by accident. It requires the right attitude. It requires positive thinking, daily discipline, vision for the future, and living a life that God can and will bless. And it requires never giving up. Caleb didn’t give up. He hung in there. He walked through forty years of tough times. He obviously never lost his faith in God or in himself. And he must have been very determined to persevere. That needs to be true of us too.

Regardless of your age it’s important to take good care of yourself. It’s true that as we age our physical abilities decline and therefore our activities must be adjusted. But it’s also true that far too many people use advancing age as an excuse, and they end up doing far less than they are capable of. Many of them end up just sitting around waiting to die. I urge you not to do that. Live life – really live it – to the fullest. Have a goal for 2026 to be in the best shape you can be in at this stage of life. Do the things necessary to stay as healthy as you can for as long as you can.

Caleb embraced every day of life with vigor, determination, and enthusiasm. He made the most of every day the Lord granted him.

Be like Caleb.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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