Taking The Hill Country

There are lots of phrases to describe it, like "Easy Street," "Fat City," or "Made In The Shade."  The notion is simple: Not wanting to struggle, we want a life where things work to our advantage and go along without constant bumps in the road.   Anyone would want that, wouldn't they?

Not Caleb. Caleb was the one man who stood with Joshua ready to take the Promised Land while everyone else said it was too difficult. 45 years later, after Israel finally conquered the land and drove their enemies into the hill country, Caleb (now 85 years old) asked Joshua to let him take the hill country.

Really?  Take the hill country?  The battles were won.  The good pasture lands were free of enemy control, but the difficult hill country was where they retreated.  You want the hardest land to develop, which is filled with adversaries?  That was precisely what Caleb was wanting.

Why would he want such a thing?  What could he possibly be thinking?  Caleb, unlike others of his day and ours for that matter, did not want a life of ease, rather he wanted a life of victory as he trusted in the Lord to protect and provide. Listen to his own words, "Give me this land the Lord promised me...the Lord helping, I will drive them out" (Josh 14:12).

Caleb did not want a life where he would be tempted to trust in his own strength.  He wanted the life he had always experience, one that called him daily to trust in the Lord.  He sis not want to walk by sight but rather by faith.  The apostle Paul would, centuries later, affirm this choice in Romans 1:17b, "The righteous will live by faith."

I' not suggesting that we should look for difficult places to live or create hazardous condition in which to conduct our daily affairs. But I am suggesting that we, like Caleb, desire "the land God has promised," which may very well be characterized by difficulties. In other words: Instead of seeking out Easy Street, "Seek first the kingdom of God" (Matt 6:33). Be a follower of Jesus, first and foremost. Let Him empower you to deal with the giants in the hills.

Jus' Sayn.