This has been a year (18 months, really) of patient endurance, as I personally have been prayerfully waiting on The LORD to open a door to His promise. He has once again, come through in extraordinary ways. And this season has prompted me to revisit, in these past few days, the life of Caleb (of the book of Joshua). What must he have thought all those years he wandered and waited with his people in the wilderness for God’s promise to be fulfilled? It wasn’t his fault Israel rebelled in fear and unbelief. He had believed. Yet his piece of the promise was delayed just as much as the Promised Land was delayed for the rest of the nation. God had pledged to preserve his life, but 40 years is a long time to wish things had been different. Every step of the way, he could easily have regretted the hard-heartedness of his peers.
Most of us live with some sense of regret. Some of us are almost eaten up with it, lamenting the lost years, wondering “what if” about misplaced moments in our lives, and wishing we could get some of those decisions back. Caleb certainly felt regret, even though he hadn’t deserved the consequences of Israel’s rebellion. But even when our mistakes have cost us dearly, God is able to preserve us for the promise, to restore the years (in my case, months) the locusts have eaten.
“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. Now give me this hill country that The LORD promised me that day.” (Joshua 14:11-12)
When Caleb finally entered the Promise Land – only he and Joshua were allowed to experience it, while the rest of their generation died away – he insisted on receiving the fulfillment of God’s promise. It wasn’t arrogance; he wasn’t being pushy. He was simply claiming what The LORD had spoken to him, and he had every right to do so, He had waited long enough.
Life is filled with waiting, isn’t it? That’s part of living in relationship with a very patient and thorough God. But we don’t wait without purpose; We’re Waiting For Something. And when that time comes, God suddenly fulfills what He said He would do. We may have wondered if that day would ever come, but The Kingdom is not a place of empty promises. God means for us to receive them and rejoice in the fulfillment. And when we do, it’s as if the years (or months) didn’t matter. It’s never too late to enjoy what He has done. Amen? So, let’s enjoy!
Have a blessed weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who are certain that He will always keep His promises, even if it appears that they may never be realized. Yet, their faith in Him remains strong and nothing is able to convince them of anything different.
All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.
“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)
Vic Alvarado 