How to be Shameless in what God has promised you, Caleb style
One thing I absolutely love about the Bible is that it really has everything you need. The word of God transcends culture and time, it was relevant 5 years ago and continues to be relevant now and it will continue to be relevant until the end of time. Nonetheless, all this to say we live in a culture that promotes shamelessly pursuing what we want in life, being shameless, and being a go-getter. My desire and really the main purpose of this blog is to find the links, examples, and ways in which all that life has to offer is done in a Godly way, and done according to the standards of God and not man.
If we read from Joshua 14 vs 6–13 we will get a gist of what being shameless in pursuit of what you deserve really means and looks like. I will paraphrase it because it’s quite long. Basically, Caleb approaches Joshua and reminds him of when he was one of the spies sent out by God to go and see what was in the land of Canaan. Ten of the twelve came back with the report that the Anakites, who were pretty much giants of that time, occupied the land and that the children of Israel stood no chance against them, which brought so much fear amongst them.
Joshua and Caleb on the other hand said something totally different. This is where Caleb says he spoke what he felt in his heart and followed God wholeheartedly in his report. He said it was really a beautiful land and it was theirs to take because God was with them. He had faith in what God had promised and because of this, Moses told him that he and his generations to come would make it to the promised land and that would become their land.
Now because the greater majority had spread fear to everyone else the military trip was postponed for 40 years! And I learnt a couple of things from this…
1) The report you listen to matters;
If 10 of the 12 had thought and seen as Joshua and Caleb did, I’m pretty sure they would have gone in to claim their land much sooner. We must be careful of the report we listen to and believe because it can hinder or delay us from truly living in the promises of God.
2) Follow God whole-heartedly;
Caleb describes himself as someone who simply chose to follow God wholly. In other words , he chose to believe in what God had promised the children of Israel and was not deterred by the giants because he knew God was on their side. We have so often found ourselves in life having to conclude what we think of a situation and in all those moments , we ought to follow God wholly. To simply choose to believe what His word says about that situation and conclude that God has our back no matter what.
3) Shamelessly claim your promises!
I think we could say Caleb was very shameless in claiming what he was promised. If he hadn’t approached Joshua to remind him what Moses had said as the land was being given out , he may have just gotten some other random piece of land, not that Joshua didn’t care but it was Caleb who heard the promise and it was Caleb who was promised.
Sometimes due to no fault of our own, we suffer because of decisions others have made, we get delayed because of situations beyond our control. Caleb was delayed by 45 years! Let that sink in. At this point he was 85 years old and he chose to shamelessly claim what he knew was his. It is the memory and eagerness he had for me, the zeal and readiness to hold on for such a long time.
What has God promised you? I’m not talking about general stuff but the specifics . He has promised you something and even though delays have occurred, be shameless in your pursuit of those promises.
4) Keep the fire burning;
A part I really love in this story is when Caleb says though I am 85 years old now , I still have the same energy and willingness I had 45 years ago to fight the Anakites and claim that land, because guess what the giants never left, they didn’t feel sorry for the children of Israel and leave. They stayed and would only leave when someone drove them out. Do not get tired of doing good. Caleb was like I’m ready to fight for my promise now even though I’m 85 and I still feel the same way I felt when I was 40. I believe this statement went beyond his physical energy, it was his spirit too, his spirit didn’t grow old it remained young and continued to have faith in God and we are encouraged to be likewise. Be brave and courageous to claim the promises of God over your life. Do not grow weary in doing good for in due season you shall reap.
Stay fervent in the Lord and remember that the best is yet to come!