Today’s Bible Reading: JOSHUA 12:7-15:19
Joshua 14:11
Caleb said. . . I wholly followed the Lord. . . Behold I am eighty-five years old, “I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So give me the hill country of which the Lord spoke . . . “
We live in a compromising world. It is a place where commitments cease, where convictions crumble and where some who stood strong in their faith, succumb to faithlessness. Having served the Lord well, they surrender to worldliness. They become weak in their convictions and wayward in their commitments. What they once lived for, they now are lackadaisical about. What they were passionate about, they now push aside. Oh, they may not have abandoned their faith, but they are just are no longer faithful. Their priorities shift and their passions are squelched. Their devotionals decline and church becomes routine. Their prayers become perfunctory and their service subsides. Their heart is no longer in it. Their love grows cold.
Caleb wholly followed the Lord his whole life. He wasn’t perfect, but he was being perfected. His devotion didn’t decline. His desire didn’t diminish. At eight-five his physical strength and spiritual stamina remained. Old age didn’t change his commitment. It didn’t cancel his convictions. Although his outer strength was affected by age, his inner strength increased with age. At eighty-five, he was as strong as he was when he spied out the land. The hardships of the wilderness didn’t harden his heart. They formed his character. The delay in receiving God’s promises didn’t push him away, but formulated patience. He was steadfast. He didn’t waver in unbelief. He didn’t wallow in doubt. He faithfully served. He remained faithful.
Here is a lesson for all believers. He is an elder to emulate. His is a life to look to. He was faithful. His path was not peaceful. His road was rough. His way was the wilderness. Through treacherous terrain and through trying tests, he prevailed. He was wholehearted. He continued in crisis. He didn’t cringe in conflict. He battled to the end. He was wholly devoted. He didn’t give up or give in. He stayed the course. He followed faithfully. He became a steadfast senior! Oh, that his tribe might increase.
Contemplate your path. It might be rough and rugged or it might be smooth and steady. Regardless of what is currently happening to you and around you, consider Caleb the steadfast senior. He wholly followed the Lord. Although he didn’t get what he was expecting, and his future was put on hold because of the actions of others, he still wholly followed. His faithfulness in the past, made his future present. He remained wholly devoted. He was solidly committed to his Savior. The Christian life is not a short jaunt, but a long obedience in the same direction. Set your path to be a steadfast senior, like Caleb.
Today reflect on what you want to be like at eighty-five. Ask the Lord to help you to maintain a steadfast devotion to Him. Ask him to help you be consistent in your spiritual disciplines, especially in spending time in scripture and supplication. Strive to be a steadfast senior.
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