My friend Joel heads to Aruba this weekend, and I am jealous. Yes, jealous. Not really because of his destination, I am jealous of his preparation. For the last 3 months, despite our constant barrage of heckling, he has been working each day to prepare his body for this trip. Now, some of you may say – how vain, and as a matter of fact that is what most of the heckling was about. But today I say how marvelous. I am not sure if he hit all of his goals or not, but at least he was forcing himself everyday to work and strive for his goal.
Last night I was with a group of men who have been studying the book of Joshua. Right there in Joshua 14 is the ultimate daily buffeter.
7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’
10 “Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 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. 12 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.”
Caleb had a promise from Moses and God, and waited 45 years to receive it. But he says he was as fit as the day he recieved the promise. Don’t you think that he must have woke up everyday and thought about the gift he was to receive. I want to believe that he worked everyday to keep himself ready to take the land and receive his gift.
What so awesome is we have a gift like that waiting for us. A promise of eternal life if we fix our eyes on Jesus. Of course that’s one of the reasons I write this blog; to help each of you work each day to attain your spiritual goals and to stay focused on our promise.
Caleb was fit spiritually, he was fit physically, he “followed the LORD [his] God wholeheartedly”.
I have a trip like Joel’s coming up this summer, and he and Caleb have inspired me. I want to follow the Lord God wholeheartedly every day, even though I fail most days. So today I am going to publicly introduce a small addition to this blog that I will call the Caleb Factor. To help force me to keep in shape, not so I can take the land, but so I can always be ready to serve. I will be sharing a little number from time to time to show my progress and my goal. I am not turning this into a fitness blog, however, I hope you this will continue to motivate you to buffet each aspect of your body each day.
So the starting number is today’s; 184 and the idea is that in June it will be 174.
How will you let the Caleb Factor inspire you?
