As we continue through the book of Joshua, we are going to look at a man named Caleb. The Bible says six times that he completely followed the Lord. His name is synonymous with wholly follow the Lord. Looking at his life, we will see what it means to be all in, totally sold out for God.
He Lived with Confidence
At the beginning of Joshua 14, Caleb recounts to Joshua, “You know what the LORD promised Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the LORD’s servant sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land, and I brought back an honest report. My brothers who went with me caused the people to lose heart, but I followed the Lord my God completely” (v. 6-8). Caleb lived out his faith surrounded by faithless people. The other ten who scouted the land died on the spot, and the rest of that generation missed out on the Promised Land because they did not follow the Lord completely (Num. 32:11). You can have confidence when you know who you are and where you are going. Caleb was there only by the grace of God. He was headed to the Promised Land. Caleb was a man of vision. Two said GO! Ten said NO! The price tag was too great. Too often we allow the attitude of others to affect our attitude. Vision moves you to a preferred future, from where you are to where you need to be. We will all stand before God one day and answer for what we could have done and should have done. Let’s make sure we end up at our destination on purpose, not by accident. The reason Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a movement was because he had a dream. When you see what others cannot see you can do what others cannot do. Completely following the Lord means being confident in who He is and what He’s promised.
He Lived with Consistency
It was 45 years that Caleb waited for God’s promise to be fulfilled (v. 10). He told Joshua, “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” (v. 11). Caleb was strong in the Lord. He was consistent in his daily tasks. We have to keep doing the right things over time. John Maxwell said, “We tend to overestimate yesterday or tomorrow and underestimate today.” Today, we must do the right things. A missionary once said, “I never did anything great for God. I just did something every day.” Paul urges, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9). Caleb was a man of passion and his fire for God did not diminish with age. The Christian life is not a sprint. It is a marathon. The verdict is out on all of us. We have not yet crossed the finish line. Being completely sold out for God means following Him day in and day out, even in the most menial things.
He Lived for a Challenge
Caleb then told Joshua, “‘Now give me this hill country the LORD promised me on that day, because you heard then that the Anakim are there, as well as large fortified cities. Perhaps the LORD will be with me and I will drive them out as the LORD promised.’ Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as an inheritance” (v. 12-13). He could have said, “Give me a land already conquered.” No, he wanted Hebron. He had been there before. There were still some battles to be won. You have to fight to have the will to live. The day you stop fighting is the day you stop living. When you run out of something to do you run out of reasons to live. You can give up or you can fight.
Courageous people live for a challenge. Are you facing a mountain today? A mountain of work, debt, discouragement, fear, hurt? As Christians, we are facing a mountain of lostness all around. There are people who have never heard about Jesus. What will our response be? Completely follow the Lord!
