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

Today's Scripture Reading (February 18, 2022): Joshua 14

An old joke about Pastors is that, while we might not have much in earthly riches as we minister in this world, the job comes with a heavenly retirement plan. There is more truth in that than we sometimes recognize. The day comes when pastors may be removed from their leadership positions in various ministries, but they never really retire. There is always more to be done. And the same is true for every Christian in the church. I have heard the message from older Christians that the time has come for them to leave the needs of the church to the next generation, that they are ready to retire from their Christian duty. And there might be a little truth to that statement, but God never leaves us with nothing to do for him. We never truly "retire" from our Christian responsibilities. We just go on to other, sometimes more challenging, things to do.

Caleb is eighty-five years old. By any definition, his best fighting days are over. He has been faithful. He was one of the first spies to be sent into Canaan. Then, he had come back with the report that, while the land held its dangers, God was with them, and they could take the land. But Caleb's was in the minority opinion, and Israel decided not to take the land. They feared the presence of the Anakites who lived in the area, the warrior giants that lived in the hill country of Canaan.

Forty-five years had passed since that day, and Caleb had been faithful. It would have been natural for Caleb to demand that now Joshua would pay for him his faithfulness and give to him, at least, the ease of life for which he fought.

But that is not the request that Caleb has for Joshua. Caleb has no desire to take the easy path. At eighty-five years of age, he wants to complete the task that he felt God was calling to him to forty-five years earlier when he was in the prime of his life. God had promised him the hill country, the home of the Anakites, and large, fortified (and therefore undefeatable) cities. Caleb isn't asking for the easy path for which his service might have entitled him. He wants the hard fight. Just as Caleb had believed that God would have been with him against the Anakites forty-five years earlier, he knew that God would be with him now.

Caleb wasn't looking for a retirement plan. He wanted to finish the fight that had been denied to him when Israel had rebelled against God. And even at eighty-five, he knew that because God was with him, he had nothing to fear from the Anakites that lived in the very hill country that he had been promised as his inheritance.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Joshua 15