Caleb: A Man Who Followed The Lord Wholheartedly

God said that Caleb had a “different spirit” (Numbers 14:24). He had a different spirit from the other ten spies, who were defeatists (Numbers 13:31). He had a different spirit from the rest of Israel, who were complainers (Numbers 14:1-2). Many times when people age, they become more negative. They become defeatists and complainers. But Caleb, at eighty-five, remained positive because he trusted in the Lord.

Today, those who trust in the Lord have been given even greater promises than Caleb knew of. We don’t, like Caleb, long for the land of Canaan; we long for heaven. The apostle John wrote of his vision of the heavenly city in Revelation 21:

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (vv. 2-4).

In the midst of great difficulty, the apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Caleb recalled God’s provision for the Israelites in the wilderness and knew that God was on their side. We can go to the Scriptures and read of the cross of Christ and know that God is on our side. Those who put their trust in Jesus have eternal life and the promise of heaven. That hope should renew us day by day.

2. Doesn’t want to go into spiritual RETIREMENT.

It’s tragic that many people reach sixty-five, retire, and wonder if their usefulness is over. So many great things have been accomplished by those who were long past the age of sixty-five:

• Galileo made some of his greatest scientific discoveries at the age of 73.

• John Glenn returned to space at the age of 75.

• Benjamin Franklin was a framer of the U.S. constitution at the age of 81.

• Michelangelo was still producing masterpieces at the age of 89.

• Dr. Jonathan Goforth, the great missionary to China, wrote to his children on his 75th birthday: “You must not wonder at me even at 75, eager to remain here in the high places of the Field, for the opportunities of service were never greater and the outlook for a great harvest never brighter than now.”

• Polycarp, at age 86, refused to deny his Savior and when to the stake, saying, “Eighty and six years have I served Him and He has never failed me. Will I deny Him now?”

• “When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the Lord said to him, ‘You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over’” (Joshua 13:1).

• Caleb, at age 85, said, “Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said” (Joshua 14:12).