Taking Ground | Week 7

Day 5

“I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out.” - Joshua 14:11

Caleb was 85 years old and asking for a mountain filled with giants.

“I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out.”

That statement should slow us down.

Eighty-five years old. Forty-five years of wilderness. Decades of waiting. Years of monotony and delay. And yet he says, I am still strong.

Not bitter.
Not disengaged.
Not spiritually exhausted.

Strong.

Spiritual strength does not happen accidentally.

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:7–8, “Train yourself to be godly.” Training implies discipline. Intention. Repetition. No one drifts into spiritual health. We drift into apathy.

Left unattended, faith does not intensify, it weakens.

Psalm 1 describes the blessed person as “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” Stability comes from rootedness. The tree survives drought because its roots run deep.

Caleb remained rooted.

He did not allow disappointment to disengage him.
He did not allow delay to distract him.
He did not allow other people’s unbelief to infect his own faith.

He stayed spiritually active in the wilderness.

That may be one of the most important lessons for families today.

Many families begin their spiritual journey with enthusiasm. Church attendance is consistent. Prayer is frequent. Scripture is central. There is passion and momentum.

But over time, schedules crowd out devotion.
Fatigue replaces focus.
Convenience begins to guide decisions.

Spiritual atrophy sets in quietly.

You do not wake up one day and decide to drift. It happens gradually. A missed Sunday becomes two. Prayer becomes rushed. Scripture becomes occasional. Spiritual conversations become rare.

Taking ground in your family means building habits that outlast emotion.

Read the Word daily, even when it feels routine.
Pray consistently, even when answers seem delayed.
Gather weekly, even when you feel busy.
Engage in small groups, even when vulnerability feels uncomfortable.

Acts 2:42 describes the early believers as devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to breaking bread, and to prayer. Devotion implies persistence. They did not engage when convenient. They committed consistently.

Spiritual shape is built through repeated faithfulness.

Strength at 85 is built at 45.
Strength at 45 is built at 25.

You cannot cram for spiritual maturity in a crisis.

When giants appear, you draw from the strength you have cultivated over time.

Your children are shaped not just by your passion but by your patterns.

If they see you passionate one week and disengaged the next, faith will seem seasonal. If they see you steady, imperfect but consistent, they will learn that God is central, not occasional.

Caleb did not coast into promise. He prepared for it.

The wilderness did not weaken him because he did not stop walking with God in the wilderness.

Spiritual shape determines spiritual stamina.

Families that remain in shape are prepared when battle comes. When temptation appears. When hardship hits. When culture presses in.

They are not scrambling for strength, they have been training for it.

Taking ground requires endurance.

And endurance is built through daily faithfulness long before the mountain is in sight.