Caleb was a man on a mission. Along with his compatriot, Joshua, he wanted to take the land immediately, when Moses was still alive. But now, it was forty-five years later. Surely he was too weak, as an eighty-five-year-old man to fight, right? Absolutely not. He was the same.
“And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.“
Joshua 14:10–11 NKJV
He never lost heart, which meant that he never lost his zeal for the promise of God. He knew that God would be faithful and would fulfill his promise to Caleb and that Caleb would possess the land. He never lost heart.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…”
2 Corinthians 4:16–17 NKJV
We fight the spiritual battle like Caleb. We take ground and refuse to give it up. If we need help, we ask for it, but we keep our eye on the prize.
The goal is to be the means by which the Spirit uses to free as many hearts as possible before we hear the trumpet sound or are called home a little early. Looking forward to that day; looking forward to that rest.
But not yet.