Inheritance III

Good morning,

This (late) morning's post comes from Kentucky, where I have the precious privilege of visiting with my sainted aunt and uncle.  They are the most sweet, godly loved ones!  Both are in their mid-80s, and have battled various health issues.  They have walked with the Lord for many decades and are always such an encouragement to me!  My mother, sister and I drove up here yesterday morning.  Currently, I am sitting on their screened porch, enjoying her beautiful gardens and this delightful weather!

As soon as I wrote the above paragraph, my aunt came out to sit with me and talk about ... inheritance!  LOL!  Isn't that funny?  And, no, I didn't bring it up either, you nay-sayers!  :)

When we visit here, we always share stories.  Stories, history --- a valuable part of our family inheritance!

In Joshua 14, Caleb came to Joshua and reminded him of history:  "Do you remember that first exploratory trip we made into The Land?"  Remember, folks, Joshua and Caleb were the only two of Moses' "spies" who spoke favorably (with faith in God) of the Israelites' chances for success against the giants of Canaan.

6 A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report,8 but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God. 9 So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’

10 “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. 11 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. 12 So give me the 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.”

(NLT)

Caleb already possessed great faith in God.  That was his greatest inheritance.  But, he also never forgot the land grant God had made to him 45 years earlier.  He was coming to Joshua, to ask him to make good on God's promise.  God never forgets and always keeps His promises.

It is interesting to me that Caleb did not request any of the Land already conquered.  The portion God had promised him had not yet been subdued.  Not only that - - - it was inhabited by giants!  Here Caleb was, at age 85, still slaying giants.  Amen!  May we be the same - - - if not physically, then at least spiritually!  It was not so much that he was "fearless" in reliance on his own strength.  His faith was what carried him forward and assured him of success - - - his faith in his God!

You see, as I've mentioned in previous blog posts, we have our inheritance from God now, through the rest of our earthly lives as Believers, as part of the Body of Christ, and we will have it through all eternity.  This treasure is meant to carry us to sustain us to death....and beyond.  We should never be deceived into believing that we are "too old" or "done".  God has something for us to do....some giant for us to slay...until our last day here.  Our faith in Jesus Christ, our eternal inheritance, is unfailing because our God is unfailing.  Hallelujah!

Dear Father, great is Your faithfulness!  Morning by morning, new mercies I see.  You provide everything that we need in order to claim our inheritance in You and to serve You until the very end in this life.  Then, we will fully realize our great inheritance, as have Caleb and Joshua and countless others who put their faith in You, as we worship and serve You forever.  In Jesus' name, amen.