Obtaining Promises

How frustrating! To be so close to a dream and see it slip away, not because of some personal inability, but due to timidity and fear of those with you. Though not as heralded as other Bible characters, few rival the persistent faithfulness of Caleb.

Forty days of scouting in the land God had promised convinced Caleb that God had kept His word. The land, rich in natural resources, offered unlimited possibilities. One mountain stood out in its appeal, a place that would be later called Hebron. It would take forty-five years, and a lot of grit before he could own it. Caleb’s life is a blue-print for obtaining promises.

Be faithful when others lose faith

The euphoria over the miraculous deliverance from Egypt and the miraculous provisions in the wilderness instantly melted before the challenges that lay before Israel. Hearts sank; Knees buckled. No one had mentioned large walled cities filled with taller and stronger people, and certainly no one mentioned that the giant sons of Anak also lived there. The men that went with Caleb replied, “No, we are not strong enough to attack them; they are more powerful than us. Besides, the land doesn’t even support the people that are there.” (Numbers 13:31-32 GNB)

Fear makes things seem worse than it really is. The grapes, figs, and pomegranates brought back by Caleb contradicted the claims of poor agricultural prospects. The apprehension of battling the inhabitants would have been relieved had the fearful men known of how the inhabitants actually felt. Years later, it would be revealed that the inhabitants had “become terrified as soon as they heard that God dried up the Red Sea” on behalf of Israel. The land, they knew, no longer belonged to them. (Joshua 2:, 11 GNB) Fear focuses upon the dangers; Faith compares the obstacle against the abilities of God. Fear made things actually worse as Israel was soon to discover.

One never obtains victory without a battle; the enemy will resist your advancement. You can never have a testimony of overcoming without facing a test. The challenges that we face provide us the basis from which acts of faith are realized. While others lose faith in the face of challenges, they that know their God will be strong, and do exploits. (Daniel 11:32 KJV)

It would have been easy for Caleb to give in to disappointment and die in the wilderness along with the millions of others. Obtaining promises demands that we remain faithful when others lose faith.

Remember delay does not mean denial

The immature want things immediately. The demand for instant gratification also reveals a selfishness that comes from a me first, me only mentality. Certainly Caleb could not take on all of the armies of Canaan alone. He would have to have help. Delay was inevitable as a generation would have to be buried in the wilderness and a new one rise up to take their place.

Few things reveal the character as does what Chuck Swindoll calls the white space of waiting, those moments in our lives were nothing appears to be happening. With each passing day, the promise land grows smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror. Days becomes weeks. Weeks become months, and suddenly you realize that years have gone by without the fulfilling of the promise. The sun rises and sets today as it did yesterday, and no word comes that we are nearing our goal. Many good men have died in despair; many more have died in bitterness. To survive the wilderness, one must remember that delay does not mean denial. God has not forgotten His promises, nor has He forgotten you.

Maintain the right spirit in negative circumstances

Caleb knew a lot about negative circumstances. The people with whom he traveled complained a lot. They were forever worried about enough water, enough food, and too many inconveniences. The enemy’s walls were too high, the enemy was too tall, and the ground was too poor. Each day brought new reasons to whine about life and complain to Moses.

David also knew about negative circumstances. Saul viewed him as a threat to the throne despite David’s faithful service. David was forced to duck javelins and ignore cutting accusations. His companions David were the dregs of society, the original “wild bunch”. He was forced to live in caves, on the run, or in the hospitality of his sworn enemies.

Joseph endured his share of negative circumstances. Jealous brothers sold him into slavery. A lying floozy has him thrown in prison. Those that he has helped quickly forget. Years pass without a glimmer of his dream coming true. It is enough to make the stoutest heart shatter with resentment.

Whether by instinct or by instruction, great men realize that to obtain promises, one must maintain the right spirit in adverse circumstances. Rather than to spend his days complaining against the faithless Israelites, Caleb serves quietly and with patience the One who is faithful. His face, unmarred by resentment and anger, reflects the blessed assurance that only a trust in God supplies. Rather than waste time cursing the darkness, he marches with hope toward his promise. Rather than be consumed by his circumstances, he maintains the right attitude that leaves him free from the poison of resentment. He maintains a right spirit despite his negative circumstances.

Remember, God will fulfill His promise—even if it means raising up a new generation

For forty years, obtaining the promise for Caleb seemed to remain the fodder of dreams. During those years, it would be easy to conclude that nothing was changing in the landscape of Caleb’s life. Each passing day brought the monotonous cycle of sunrise and sunset, the daily grind of chores, and no word of a purposeful march back to the land that God had offered.

Was God neglecting Caleb? Certainly not! The fulfillment of the promise required the demise of those who accused God of bringing them to a place of death, where their wives and children would be captured. Each passing day brought a grim harvest of former Egyptian slaves, their corpses a mute reminder of the cost of faithlessness. The same day brought the joy of a newborn child, the rise of a new generation that would help obtain what their fathers would not.

God’s purposes will not be frustrated by the fickleness of men. As Mordecai warned a hesitant Esther, “deliverance will come, if not by you, by some other means.” (Esther 4:14) For each failure of an Eli, God will introduce a Samuel. For each failure of a Saul, God will anoint a David. When the Judases sell out for a few coins of silver, Paul finishes the course laid before him. God will always have a people to accomplish His purposes, even if He has to bring up a new generation to do what their fathers refused. God will not leave Himself without a witness of His faithfulness.

For those that languish in their hope of obtaining promises made to them, please hear the words of Caleb.

“I was forty years old at the time Moses sent me from Kadesh-Barnea into Canaan as a spy. When I came back and told him about the land, everything I said was true.
The other spies said things that made our people afraid, but I completely trusted the LORD God.
The same day I came back, Moses told me, ‘Since you were faithful to the LORD God, I promise that the places where you went as a spy will belong to you and your descendants forever.’
Joshua, it was forty-five years ago that the LORD told Moses to make that promise, and now I am eighty-five. Even though Israel has moved from place to place in the desert, the LORD has kept me alive all this time as he said he would.
I'm just as strong today as I was then, and I can still fight as well in battle.” (Joshua 14:7-11 CEV)

God is keeping you alive, and He will enable you to obtain your promise, just as He did Caleb.