Reasons to Keep Going – Part II

Third, God fights for you.  In receiving Hebron as an inheritance, Caleb is fully aware that many more battles lay ahead.  In fact, the mountain was inhabited by the Anakites, one of the three types of giants the Bible mentions.  Nonetheless, at eighty-five years of age, Caleb willingly accepts the land and the challenges.  He knows that Almighty God will fight him.  He attests that God will give him strength to endure be victorious.  Relying genuinely upon the strength and grace of God, Caleb proudly declares, “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out.  I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.”  Elsewhere, a prophet assures Jehoshaphat that the Lord will fight for him.  In 2 Chronicles 20:15, the prophet declares that the battle is not the king’s but it is the Lord’s.  He encourages the king to “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”  In addition, Paul tells the Romans, “If God be for you, who can be against you?”  Caleb essentially rests in the reality that God empowers His people to be victorious in every circumstance.

Fourth, God gives you the fruit of the promise.  I imagine that Caleb spent those forty-five years in the wilderness envisioning the house that he would build adjacent to Hebron.  One biblical account in the book of Numbers notes that the scouts brought back a bundle of grapes from the land “flowing with milk and honey.”  I suspect that the taste of those grapes became permanent in Caleb’s mouth.  What an image!  It signifies a real heartfelt dream.  Do you have a dream that you can hold onto for forty-five years?  Even so, Caleb unwaveringly believes that Almighty God will grant him the fruit of the promise.  He is correct.  The thirteenth verse shows Joshua imparting the deed to Hebron to Caleb.

Caleb, most undoubtedly, will erect a luxurious home with a verandah.  In the cool of the day, he will sit on the porch.  Probably, he will enjoy a chilled glass of Chablis and a stokie.  Then, he will reflect and allow his mind to drift across the horizon.  He recalls God’s persistent goodness toward him.  Caleb rejoices contemplatively that Almighty God spared his life and graciously gave him the fruit of the promise.

Fifth, God is faithful.  The fourteenth verse says that Caleb’s children inherited the land after him.  In fact, it forever remained in Caleb’s tribe.  Actually, Caleb renames the area and blots out the memory of the Anakites.  This eternal inheritance and provision for Caleb’s family reveals the everlasting faithfulness of Almighty God.  Indeed, “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.  His mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning.  Great O’ God is Thy faithfulness.”

Summarily, we have five reasons to keep going.  (1) God does not fail.  (2) God fulfills His promises.  (3) God fights for you.  (4) God gives you the fruit of His promise.  (5) God is faithful.  I pray that they will encourage you to “keep on keeping on!”