"GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN"

"GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN"

Caleb was an old man now. Forty five years earlier he and Joshua were two of the twelve spies sent into Canaan to spy out the land. Both Joshua and Caleb had given a good report and recommended that Israel go up and take the land at once. But the other ten spies gave an evil report that struck fear into the hearts of God's people and as a result they did not have the faith to enter the land God had given them. For forty years Israel wandered
about in the desert under the until that entire generation below the age of 20 died . . . all except Joshua and Caleb.

After Moses left the scene and Joshua had led Israel into Canaan, where for five years they won victory after victory, one day Caleb approached Joshua and said, "You know what the Lord said to Moses concerning me at Kedesh-Barnea after we had spied out the land. And now God has kept me alive these forty-five years, and Moses gave me a word at that time that God would surely give me the land upon which my feet had trod. Therefore give me this mountain. For the Lord will surely strengthen me to drive out the inhabitants thereof." (Joshua 14)

There are seven things about this story that stood out to me and impacted my life:

First, here was a man of God who at the age of 85 was holding on to a word he had received 45 years earlier. Has God spoken a word to you that will require the same tenacity and courage to bring it to pass, even though the years have passed over you and the word you received seems to have died out there on the desert somewhere?

Second, the mountain Caleb had in his heart to possess was something his feet had already walked upon, the word of the Lord had only confirmed what was already in his heart concerning that mountain when Moses said, "Surely the land whereon your feet have trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever because you have wholly followed the Lord my God." The faith to possess that mountain came to Caleb by seeing and touching the land and by hearing the word of the Lord concerning what he
had seen and touched. True faith is not arbitrarily choosing a goal and then trying to speak it into being. It is only as we see it in the spirit and know that it is the will of God that we will have the faith to receive it, or to declare it, or to achieve it, or to just wait for it in quietness and in confidence.

Third, this mountain was given to Caleb because of one single act of obedience. He had fully obeyed God in one particular instance and it secured to him a reward that would not be denied to him though it did not come to him for forty-five long years. Many of the blessings that we now enjoy are the rewards of certain acts of obedience that we fulfilled in the past. A very big door will swing on very small hinges. The seemingly insignificant
little acts of obedience we do from day to day may be the hinges that govern the outcome of important and weighty matters in the future. This was the case when Abraham offered Isaac on the altar. Once that was done it never had to be done again. Abraham passed the test and the blessing was pronounced that would never be nullified. You may be right on the verge of entering into blessings that are rewards for some act of obedience
completed years ago, or you may be in a test today that will yield benefits later if you will obey now.

Fourth, Caleb realized that he would have a part in bringing the promise to fulfillment. He had to go out and take the land that had been promised him. He went, he warred and he won! It is a rare thing for God to bring to us a ready-made victory that does not require of us some act of faith. Most of the time we find ourselves in the boat with a word from the Lord like Peter heard that stormy night . . . "Come." Jesus bid him step out of the boat and walk on the water with Him. Peter had to get down out of the boat and walk on the water by his own faith. It was not Jesus' faith, otherwise Peter would not have sunk into the sea.

Has the Lord called on you to leave the comfort zone of your boat and do something that will require miracles to accomplish? If he says, "Come!" it is safe to get out of the boat. Even if you do sink, he is there to rescue you and get you back to safety. The only way you will ever walk on water is to take the risk of getting wet. Peter did get wet, but he also walked on water.

Fifth, Caleb did not allow his age to become a negative factor. "Lo, I am this day 85 years old, but I am as strong this day as I was the day Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now . . . " Many spiritual giants in the Body of Christ down through the years did not get started in their life's calling until they were well past their youth. Smith Wigglesworth started his worldwide miracle healing ministry at age 55. Overholtser was past 50 when he started Child Evangelism Fellowship. Moses was 80 when he received the call to go to Egypt. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when Isaac the son of promise, was born.

God will use you without regard to your age. He is calling men and women of all ages to step out of their comfort zone and walk on water with Him to help disciple the nations. Do you hear the call?

Sixth, Caleb's obedience brought blessing upon his children unto many generations. None of us know how many of the good things we now enjoy are the direct result of some act of obedience on the part of our fathers or forefathers. Conversely, many of the hang ups and bondages we struggle with may be because of some act of disobedience on their part?

Seventh, Caleb served with his brothers to secure the land of Canaan for the entire nation before he made mention of his own individual portion. His example speaks for itself. God wants us to concentrate on how we can be a blessing to others and not always to be thinking about our own things. As we do this, God will secure to us our mountain and fulfill our dreams, and in the process will bless our children and their children unto a thousand generations.