Not Automatic

Numbers 27:^7-8 “The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father… If a man dies and has no son, then give his inheritance to his daughters.”

Joshua 14:^10-11 “Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then.” Some people try to argue that back in the day, they lived longer so age was not an issue. An eighty-five-year-old then is just like a twenty-year-old now. If that were the case and age was not an issue, Caleb would not be making a case for the fact that he was still able to fight. This means normal eighty-five-year-olds should not be in combat, be in battle, or be traversing countries, and taking territories.

But Caleb was saying I am eighty-five, but I can still do the things I could do forty-five years ago. Joshua 14:¹² “So give me the mountain [higher ground, hill country] that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.” (emphasis and words added). If the Lord is with you, nothing can stop you. Everything God has promised you; you will lay hold of them in the Mighty Name of Jesus. We see in this scripture that Caleb was placing a demand for his mountain, for his inheritance in God. Sometimes, we probably don’t articulate it or say it, but our body language, our posture, and our disposition tell a story that since we are children of God then things should just happen for us.

But the truth is, it does not work like that. It is possible to be in the Promised Land and not be in your Promised Land. It is possible to be in a community of faith, to see miracles happening around you, people entering into their possessions, but it has not happened for you yet. Caleb actually helped other people enter their land. But entering his land was not automatic. Caleb had to demand for it. Caleb had to say to the Lord, and to Joshua, ‘Give me this mountain’. What has God promised you that you need to place a demand on? God always, always, always honours those who follow Him wholeheartedly, like Caleb.

So, it is time for you and I to get up and say, ‘Give me this mountain’. So far, we have learnt three of these seven lessons from Caleb. Over the next few days, beginning tomorrow, we will delve into the remaining four lessons Caleb has for us on taking our mountains.

Prayer: Father, I come before You the Judge of the whole earth and I demand for my mountain, my Promised Land, let it please You to release it to me even now, in Jesus Name. Amen!