Now give me the hill country… (Joshua 14:12).

When Moses and the Israelites were poised to enter the Promised Land, God had Moses send twelve men out to scout the area.  When they returned, ten of the men were Negative Neds…or maybe Downer Dans.  Anyway, they were terrified, and told everyone that the land was filled with giants. If the Israelites crossed the Jordan and tried to enter that land, they were gonna get squished.

That was ten of them.

The other two men were Joshua and Caleb.  They agreed that there were giants over there, but they trusted God to give them the land as He had promised.  They said, in effect, “Hey Boys, let’s go giant hunting!”

The people listened to the fear mongers, as people so often do, and didn’t want to cross the river and face those scary giants.  God responded by giving them their wish, condemning them to wander the desert until all the adults of that rebellious generation had died off.

Except for Joshua and Caleb.  As they had stood for God, so he stood for them.

Fast forward 45 years…

The new generation has crossed the Jordan.  They are in the process of taking the Promised Land.  Joshua is parceling out land to the various tribes when along comes Caleb—crusty, dusty, 85-year-old Caleb.  He wants Hebron, the hill country—one of the toughest areas in the whole land.  Promise or no, Caleb won’t take this land without a fight.  He could have an easier portion, but he chooses the challenge.  Caleb chooses to dive into the fray and let God show his faithfulness.

I have a friend named John.  In a few hours, John will be undergoing surgery to remove a mass that has taken up residence in his brain.

Scary?  Yep.

When I went to see him the other evening, John was deep in the Word, reading the above passage about Caleb.  The phrase, Give me the hill country, had become his rallying cry.

I like that.

Look, I know John’s scared.  Only a fool would ignore the giants facing him, and John’s no fool—though don’t tell him I said that.  But my friend has dreams, things he wants to accomplish with his life and for his God, and he isn’t about to let a few giants get in the way of so much Promise.  This morning, John goes giant hunting.

And what about you, Beloved?  Are you focused on the giants, or on the Promise?

Go claim your hill country.