Joshua 14:12

New International Version (NIV)

Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day … the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.

For Encouragement

 Faith, commitment, and determination distinguish the extraordinary Christian from the ordinary. Faith receives the promise with gladness and joy. Commitment carries it along as far as possible. However, determination moves a person to take hold and actualize the promise in life. Therefore, an audacious determination is necessary when facing severe handicaps.

Caleb exemplifies this truth in real life. He received the promise of God by faith at forty in Kadesh Barnea (Nu. 14: 24-25). He committed to the cause of God and fought with the younger folks to possess the Promised Land. Forty-five years after Kadesh, Caleb stood to claim his portion of the inheritance. The land sat in the hills with large cities and fortified walls. The Anakites—the giants — lived there. That was a formidable challenge, even for a young man to claim, but eighty-five-year-old Caleb demanded it audaciously. 

“Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day … the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as He said” (Joshua 14:12). 

That determination, based on faith and commitment, enabled him to overcome the odds and win the victory. This discipline is what we need for victorious and authentic Christian living today. The odds are against us, but with the Lord helping us, we will overcome them for Christ’s glory. 

Are you purpose-driven in your walk with Jesus? What has the Lord promised you, and for how long? Is the desire still burning in your heart? Are you sure you still want it? Do you have the disciplines of faith, commitment, and determination to go for it despite your serious obstacles?

This message aims to allow Caleb’s story to inspire you this morning, letting his audacious determination to take the hill country of the Anakites at age eighty-five years to speak hope into your life again (Joshua 14:12). You can trust the Lord to help you scale those mountains; tear down those walls of hindrance; and to defeat those giants that have intimidated you for so long. It is possible to determine audaciously to do more extraordinary exploits, as Caleb did at eighty-five.

I pray you will stop using age and life’s hurdles as excuses to give up on God’s promises for your life. They are all yes in Christ; through Him, we say amen to the glory of God (2 Cor. 1:20).    

 So: May the Lord who works perseverance in us to perfect us in Christ (James 1:2-4) honor your determination to live for Him, in the coming year, and may the joy of the Lord strengthen you against every formidable opposition that confronts you in life.

Pray with Me

Father, let this become my Christmas gift, a determination that will fuel my faith and my commitment to fulfill my destiny in Christ Jesus, amen.