As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.
Joshua 14:11-12
On February 15, 2011, then British Prime Minister David Cameron adopted Larry the cat from the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and brought him to 10 Downing Street. For more than fifteen years now, Larry has been Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, where according to his profile on the official government website, his duties include “greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defenses, and testing antique furniture for napping quality.” Larry has held his position under six different prime ministers and has become wildly popular. According to Cambridge University professor Phillip Howell, “Larry the cat’s approval ratings will be very high. And prime ministers tend not to hit those numbers. He represents stability, and that’s at a premium.”
The successful Christian life demands consistency and faithfulness. Caleb and Joshua were the only two of the spies who believed that God was able to give Israel the victory, and so they were the only two who were allowed to enter the land. More than forty years passed, but Caleb was still faithfully following God, and believing that all that had been spoken would come to pass.
Many times God’s plan for our lives unfold over long periods of time, but we must not allow that to make us doubt God’s faithfulness. We should instead follow the example of Abraham who “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform” (Romans 4:20-21).
