Leadership Lesson: If you’re still breathing, it’s not too late to see a move of God.

When I turned 40 this past year, I realized something that was hard to swallow at first.  Even though I married the girl of my dreams at 21, I have a thrilling marriage, five wonderful children, and a thriving church I love (all by the grace of God), 

There were things I hadn’t accomplished by the time I was 40. 

God-birthed dreams.  Dreams I’d seen other people do BEFORE forty.

I had wanted to squeeze every ounce of effectiveness, gospel productivity, and life into the two previous decades.  And now that opportunity was  . . . past.

Whatever I was going to do in my twenties and thirties  . . . there was no adding to it now.

Have you ever felt that way?

• Like you’ve missed the opportunities that others are leveraging?
• Like you don’t have the courage to believe for anything more happening, because . . . what if you’re disappointed?
• Or if THAT (marriage, getting pregnant, a better career) were going to happen, it would have happened by now?

Good news: If you’re still breathing, it’s not too late to see a move of God.

In Joshua 14, we meet Old Man Caleb.  His is the stuff that movies like “Rocky Balboa” and “Logan” hail from. He was an OLD hero, no question  . . . but he still had MORE in him. 

He wasn’t ready to call it quits. God had made him a promise, and he was determined to SEE it come to pass.

You remember Caleb’s YOUNG hero story, right?  Forty-five years earlier, he was one of the ONLY TWO PEOPLE who had successfully spied out the promised land and BELIEVED that it would be easy to enter because GOD was on their side (despite the presence of the fearsome Canaanites).

Caleb! Dude!  You were literally one of only two in a million who trusted God when EVERYONE else was doubting.   What a reputation!  

As a reward, Caleb was promised a land of HIS own when the Israelites would finally arrive in the Promised Land four decades later.  (See Joshua 14:6-12)

Now in his eighties, advanced as he may have been in years, Old Man Caleb proved to be even more advanced in FAITH.  

After forty-five YEARS of patiently waiting he was willing to go in and fight (the Canaanites) for it.  He couldn’t have done it earlier.  

He could only do it here, in this closing chapter of his life.

You and I need to remember the wisdom of Caleb: 

God Saves Some Opportunities For MUCH Later. 

Caleb reminds Joshua, 

“And here I am today, eighty-five years old! I’m as strong as I was the day Moses sent me out. I’m as strong as ever in battle, whether coming or going. (Joshua 14:10-11)

Why do we think that really incredible opportunities have to happen by the time we’re forty . . . Or fifty . . . Or seventy?

I’m glad to know that there are some visions that aren’t fulfilled until the last hour. 

There are some dreams that don’t come to pass until we are nearing the finish line. 

Being older didn’t make Caleb TOO old.

Caleb DID ultimately see the fulfillment of his prophetic promise (see Numbers 14:30) because he PERSEVERED in wholehearted following and believingly trusting that God could be counted upon. 

What about you? Will you press forward in faith that God really can still do amazing, huge, incredible things through you, no matter your age?

Say, “Lord,

• “I choose to believe that my age is not a limitation for You.”
• “Your promise has never been about my qualifications but about Your faithfulness and my willingness to believe You.”
• “I still believe I am a candidate for God’s blessing, no matter how much time has passed.”
• “I haven’t counted myself out.”
• “I’m mentally dressed for battle.”
• “I’m ready and expectant.” 

You’re not too old. 

Leadership Lesson: If you’re still breathing, it’s not too late to see a move of God.

Powerful and strong God, 

May I not despise the day of waiting. By Your power, may I demonstrate the wisdom of Caleb and be found wholeheartedly believing the Lord my God. YOU will come through at the right time, whether I am 20, 40 or 80. Your timing is ALWAYS best.  Stir me up to trust it.

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Posted on March 3, 2018