5 March | EVERYONE
"Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.” Joshua 14:12
Joshua was distributing the land among the tribes of Israel. Each one chose his portion, the best soil, the most productive land, and the flattest ground. Suddenly, Caleb came to Joshua and said, "Give me the mountains." What? Yes, the mountains. Those places that no one wants; the mountains where the giant descendants of Anak still live, which were never conquered. The arid and barren land.
The impressive thing is that Caleb was already in his eighties by now. He was not a young man in search of adventure, and yet he remained a man full of dreams, while unafraid to face challenges and not being content with the easy. Isaiah would one day say, “The youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31).
Caleb is a notable example of someone who placed complete trust in God. He was always determined to trust ever since the day Moses sent the twelve spies to inspect the land of Canaan. The positive report he presented with Joshua was the fruit of his trust in the Lord. His secret was to trust God, and that trust was a result of his daily connection with Him. "What we need now is Calebs, men who are faithful and true" (Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, v. 5, p, 134).
When a person trusts God and learns to live in fellowship with Jesus, they are not afraid of what comes. Life is not over; challenges do not end. Each day is a new opportunity to continue to put God's wonderful plans into practice. Men and women of God are like steel. They may break, but they never bend.
Take Action
Do not be afraid to face challenges and choose the most difficult if you deem it necessary for your conscience. Trust the Lord and ask Him to help you be a modern-day Caleb, no matter what.