FINISHING WELL

"I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart… I followed the Lord my God fully… the Lord has let me live… I am eighty-five years old today… Now… give me this hill country… with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken..." Joshua 14:7, 8, 10, 12.
                George Sweeting wrote a book, Too Soon to Quit (1999, Moody Press). Perhaps this book inspired Caleb at 85 to request the fortified cities for an inheritance. (LOL! Just kidding! It may well have been the example of Caleb in today’s One Year Bible reading that inspired Sweeting’s writing!)
                Caleb must have been an inspiration to others even in old age. Except for Joshua their leader, he was older by 20 years or more than anyone else in the Israeli nation, since following their disastrous experience at Kadesh-barnea, all those 20 and over at that time had died during the 40 wilderness years. Caleb however was spared and still ready for a challenge. What a testimony!!
                What about us? Are we going for a strong finish? I also think of my own dad who at 84 traveled to a remote part of Indonesia for a special occasion in our work there—that too inspired me.
                Things can seem tough right now—as things surely did for Caleb in the wilderness—but if God gives us the strength and opportunity, let’s not become discouraged, but rather be encouraged by Caleb’s example. Let’s aim to finish well.