“I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me… now
then, give me this hill country.” — Joshua 14:11–12
Most people slow down by the time they reach their mid-eighties. Caleb wasn’t most people. At eighty-five, after decades of wilderness wandering and war, he stood before Joshua with a bold request: *”Give me this hill country”* (Joshua 14:12). This wasn’t a plea for retirement—it was a call to battle. The land he asked for was still occupied by giants.
But Caleb didn’t flinch.
Forty-five years earlier, he had stood with Joshua in faith while the other ten spies cowered in fear. *”We should by all means go up and take possession of it,” he had said, “for we will surely overcome it”* (Numbers 13:30). That faith hadn’t dimmed. Though the years had passed, Caleb’s trust in the Lord remained fierce and full.
“I am still as strong today as I was then,” he said—not just physically, but in resolve, in readiness, in dependence on God. He was full of sap and very green.
But notice what fueled Caleb’s vitality: *”I followed the LORD my God fully”* (Joshua 14:8, 9, 14). Repeated three times in the chapter, it reveals the secret. His strength wasn’t self-generated—it was God-sustained. He wasn’t coasting on memory. He was moving forward in obedience.
Many begin with faith, but few finish with fire. Caleb did both. And when he said “Give me this hill country,” he wasn’t asking for ease. He was asking for one more opportunity to prove God faithful—to conquer one more enemy, to take one more stand, to trust one more time. Old age didn’t make him timid. It made him tenacious.
How we finish matters. It is possible to grow older and grow softer—not in humility, but in compromise. To lower expectations. To protect comfort instead of pursuing faithfulness. Caleb chose a different path. He believed that if God was still with him, then no enemy was too strong, and no mountain too steep.
This is what it means to finish well.
Caleb reminds us: spiritual strength doesn’t have to decline with age. Faith can grow bolder. Courage can burn brighter. And trust can dig deeper roots.
So when others are stepping back, don’t be afraid to step forward. Ask for the hill country. Trust God for one more mountain.
Further Reading
Joshua 14:12 — “Give me this hill country… perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I will drive them out as the LORD has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:31 — “Those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles.”
Deuteronomy 34:7 — “Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim nor his vigor abated.”
Reflection Questions
1. In what ways are you tempted to “settle down” spiritually instead of pressing forward?
2. What “hill country” is God placing before you that still requires faith and courage?
3. How can you cultivate a heart like Caleb’s—fully following God, even now?
Suggested Prayer\
Lord, don’t let me grow passive with age. Keep me strong in faith, bold in obedience, and willing to take the hill country You put before me—because You are with me.
This devotional is excerpted from Full of Sap and Very Green by D.C. Robertsson.
