At the ripe old age of eighty-five, Caleb said to Joshua, ‘the Lord has kept me alive, just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day. And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb because he wholly followed the Lord’ (Joshua 14:10-14 NKJV). There was nothing half-baked or half-hearted about Caleb. His dream kept him alive; he got out of bed every morning intent on pursuing it.
When God gives you a dream as big as a mountain, it will keep you going while others around you are giving up. But be careful who you listen to. Don’t let the critics discourage you by saying, ‘You’re too old.’ The Bible says that like a palm tree, you can produce your greatest harvest of fruit in your final years (Psalm 92:12-14). When the sun goes down the stars come out, so you can shine brightest in the closing chapters of your life.
One woman stated: ‘My great-great uncle lived to one hundred and six. He was healthy and spry and took joy in chauffeuring his less able-bodied senior friends around town. On his hundredth birthday his driver’s license came up for renewal. When he went to the licensing bureau a skeptical clerk said, ‘You’re a hundred years old! What do you need a driver’s license for?’ My uncle replied, ‘Somebody has to drive the old folks around!’ He continued to have a legal driver’s licence for the next five years.’
Do it Caleb’s way: live till the moment you die!
