I’m not sure which sounds worse — 75 years, or three-fourths of a century. That’s the mark I’m hitting in just a few months, so I guess it’s natural to pause and reflect back on life as well as ponder the future. Scripture talks about old guys: “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life” (Proverbs 16:31, ESV). Translation: Your gray hair is good if you got it through a righteous life. That is the man I want to be — one who inspires the younger generation to live a bold and godly life!

My “go-to” guy for that is Caleb. He was an action figure long before it became trendy. He was one of the 12 who, with Joshua, were sent to spy out the land. After 40 days, they returned, and 10 of the 12 gave an “evil report” (Numbers 13:32, KJV) or “bad report” (ESV). I prefer “evil report” over “bad” because they based their report on what they saw in the land, disregarding God’s promise to them.

Joshua and Caleb had a different perspective. “If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them” (Numbers 14:8-9, ESV).

You know the rest of the story; the other 10 spies were toast, and the entire congregation spent 40 years in the wilderness. Joshua and Caleb were commended for their faith. The author of Hebrews warns us about a lack of faith: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12, ESV). If Scripture says that unbelief is evil, then we need to pay attention.

I’m not sure which is worse — 40 years listening to a bunch of whiney-butts grumbling, or going out in a blaze.

Fast-forward 45 years and we find Caleb again. God had made a promise to Caleb, and he was coming to Joshua to receive it. “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” (Joshua 14:10-11, ESV). Caleb was a man of war, and his strength rested in believing the promise of his God to be with him and reward him.

I learned warfare on the battlefields of Vietnam, and I carry those lessons forward in our warfare in the spiritual realm. Our enemy is cruel and ruthless, and he is relentless in advancing evil unbelief in this world, of which he is the prince (John 14:30). God promised Caleb that he would receive the land on which he had passed. God has promised us a reward as well, but like Caleb, it is only won by having faith in the promises of God. Anything less is “an evil heart of unbelief”! And what exactly are those promises? you might ask. Let me give you a few.

“I [Jesus] have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” —Romans 8:37

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” —I John 5:4-5

Did you catch that? Our faith makes us overcomers of the world and the prince who rules it. In Jesus’s letters to the churches in Revelation, He gives promises to those who overcome. The bottom line is that it isn’t about us; it’s all about Him! God delights in working in the lives of those who will exercise faith and trust in Him.

My body may be weakening, but my faith is not. I can look back over the years, and though I have not been without failure, God has never failed me. My confession is this: “My strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.”

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! What say ye, Man of Valor!