Audacious Tenacity

"Give me this mountain" ~ Joshua 14:8 (Caleb)


This blog is slightly different from the others that you will find in this Resolve series, because it was written independently of the devotionals I wrote last week. At least this draft is. You see I wrote a full devotional, on my phone, using the wifi at a fast food establishment at about 6am. I should have spent 20 mins on it, with the time allowed by my work schedule, but I spent something closer to an hour, in the end, so taken was I with my subject. I thought my fat fingers had hit the share button. I have no idea what I actually hit but in an instant, 90% of the post just disappeared , and my heart sank.

I think the feeling I had must have been a (very) little like Caleb felt, when he and Joshua came back from scouting out the promised land, and the faithless spies gave a bad report. All he had envisioned, vanishing before his eyes. It is not really comparable to my little technical error, but what I want you to see, is how utterly gutted he must have been. Absolutely floored. The rug was pulled right out from beneath him, and the Milk and Honey right before his eyes....vaporising into a fading memory.

And then, once more, to be standing on the edge of the promised land after Forty more years in the desert. And hearing the words;

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."~ Joshua 1:9


This great man of faith was stirred again, I imagine. The dream he had held onto, this boy born in the wilderness, was once more his for the taking. His belief in God had not wavered in the testing time. He had seen his God proved again and again and now his desire, if anything, had only been refined, and grown more concentrated.

 A friend of mine once made the observation that greater intimacy with The Father, breeds a greater audacity in his children. I have paraphrased slightly, but it is the principle that I want to draw our attention to, rather than the wording. (I think he said it better). Listen, the more we know him, the more we know he is for us, the more audaciously we can ask. It is not arrogance. It is an understanding of Gods love and power that will give us confidence of this nature. We are not slaves to fear, but rather we have a spirit of Sonship. We shouldn't shrink back from asking an imagined tyrant, but instead boldly approach the throne of grace, and receive the loving gifts of our kind king and faithful father.
Yes, the almighty creator of the universe, and we have the audacity to call to him, Abba, Father.

Remarkably, even after this hard fought campaign to take the promised land, Caleb, at 85 years old, is still up for the fight. All the land is taken apart from this notoriously difficult mountainous land of Hebron, where the insurgent fighters are entrenched. This is land that was promised to Caleb. He could have settled, but no. He was after his inheritance. 80 years in the desert had not quenched his thirst for God's destiny for his life. He knew the promise and he knew his God, and so he proclaims with confidence "Give me this Mountain". This is the last we hear of Caleb. In my mind (and I tend to see everything as a movie) We watch Caleb's heels disappear into the horizon, as he walks off towards his mountain. We are spared the details of his exploits but we know he was victorious.

Caleb is an adventurer. That in itself is inspiring, but what is far more inspiring is his longevity. We are instructed to 'Keep your spiritual fervour serving the Lord' (Rom 12:11). The start of that verse says "Never be lacking in zeal". Wow.

I speculate that Caleb was the inspiration for C S Lewis's character Reepicheep, the valiant mouse. I love Reepicheep. He is my favourite of all the Narnia characters. Reepicheep is last seen, getting into his coracle and sailing bravely into the unknown seas to the End Of the World, in search of Aslan's country. Reepicheep has the tenacity to go where none of the others will follow, and the Audacity to ask for Aslan's Country, when others will settle for the furthest reaches of their vessels abilities.

This is my challenge, and it is one that will go on far beyond your remembrance of this blog, will you live with audacious tenacity and believe beyond sight, and trust beyond touch and, like Caleb, never say die. What is the promise that still stirs you? Will you ask your loving heavenly father "Give me this mountain"?