Good morning. When is it time to call it quits, to say that enough is enough, to step aside and let younger people have their turn? I am not sure that there is a number that qualifies to identify such an age. It is, I believe, a matter between the Lord and each individual. But I also believe that too often people convince themselves to be less than they are equipped to be simply because they have reached an age, or at least a number that identifies an age.
What led me to such thoughts was the reading of the Book of Joshua, specifically a request that Caleb makes to Joshua. You may recall that when God had delivered His people from slavery in Egypt to the threshold of the promised land, He tells Moses to send 12 spies into the land to identify that it was indeed all that God had promised it to be. The spies return, but they had mixed messages. All 12 reported that the land was indeed quite wonderful, but 10 of the 12 said that the beauty of the land was immaterial because the area was home to cities with armies which the Israelites could never overcome. The other 2 spies were named Joshua and Caleb. They saw the same things as the other 10, but they saw it with faithful eyes. These 2 men said that while there were indeed fierce warriors in the land, God was greater, and they should not fear. The people wouldn’t listen, and 40 years of wandering in the wilderness was the result.
When Caleb comes to Joshua, the 40 years had passed, and Joshua had replaced Moses as God’s physical leader of the people. The Israelites had entered the promised land, were blessed by God, and possessed the land. In Joshua 14:6-15 you can read of the other spy, Caleb, and his request to Joshua. Caleb says, And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day…
Caleb is saying that the Lord isn’t finished with him yet, and that at age 85 he remains capable in faith and in life. Joshua agrees, as well he should, because he is about the same age and is God’s chosen leader over the people.
Perhaps we forget where strength comes from? 2 Peter 1:3-4 tells us His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises…
It is the divine power of the Lord which sees us through the day. But like all activities, it is putting in the practice time that enhances strength. If we decide to sit back and stop trying it doesn’t take long before we are weakened. If we step forward to always do our best, it is the promise of God to sustain us, and even to increase our strength. Reading on in 2 Peter 1:5-8 we are told of the potential for increase: For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In short, if the question is “when is it time to call it quits and act our age,” perhaps one answer is “never.” Perhaps the best answer is to say that we will continue to do our best and to be our best as long as the Lord chooses to give us strength.
Of this we can all be sure, as long as we draw breath, the Lord will not quit in His work to build us up.
God bless you with strength and confidence today!
Vern