Passage Read: Joshua 14-17
Meditation Verse: 17:16
Thought
Eighty-five-year-old Caleb is chomping at the bit to take Hebron and its surrounding villages, even though the rulers there are the descendants of Anak. He's not afraid of them, but still holds firmly his faith in the power of God to enable him to succeed in claiming the land promised to him. The sons of Joseph come to Joshua to complain that their portion is too small for the size of their tribes and the Canaanites have iron chariots. Joshua has the same faith as Caleb: "You can defeat the Canaanites." But they are defeated before they begin. They have worked with all the other tribes to defeat city after city, but suddenly these Canaanites are too strong for them, despite their numbers. They haven't learned from their own experience and they haven't learned from Caleb or Joshua that the Lord is the one who enables victory, not themselves, and it is certainly not the apparent might of the enemy that makes them insurmountable. Their lack of faith in God and His promises is their only limiting factor.
Application
Caleb's faith wasn't that God would do all the work, but that God would bless his efforts. All he had to do was go and attack the Canaanites. The same God that gave Caleb victory could and would give the sons of Joseph victory, if they would just believe Him and engage the Canaanites. What faith do I have in the face of my enemies, in the face of my besetting sins, in the face of the challenges in front of me? Does God have power to grant victory if I'm willing to engage in the fight? Or am I defeated before I begin because the problem is too big? How easy it is to melt before the enemy, because I am truly powerless before him. I can't fix my eyes on myself or on the challenge; I must fix my eyes on God and trust that if He desires to grant victory, then I can't be defeated, no matter how little my strength or how great the enemy.