The Last 20%: Are You Hunting Giants?

Life has its moments.

When you are young, dreams and plans occupy the mind. Then, the kids leave home (always quicker than imagined). You start thinking, “what next?” Time sits unused in the coming years.

But time continues to flow until you reach an age when you ask, “what will you do with the rest of your life?”

As I write this, I am 67 years old. I have lived 80% of my life.

That leaves but 20%. When you have used up most of your life, you could feel “used up.”

That’s when I remember a man in the Bible I admire.

We meet him, a young man of about 40, in the desert outside of Canaan’s border. He sits around a crackling campfire. A debate rages among 12 men who have entered Canaan as spies.

They saw wonders, grapes as big as a man’s fist.

But…they also saw giants. They seemed like grasshoppers compared to them.

Fear set in and focused the debate. Most said, “no way, I’m not going there.” Two did. One, named Joshua, would lead Israel in a generation.

The other was Caleb.

Time passed, and Caleb watched all of his friends, family, and fellows fall. Graves marked the trail through the Sinai desert.

This new generation came to the promised land and crossed the Jordan on dry land. Families received portions of land.

Caleb wanted more than a plot of ground. In Joshua 14, he met with Joshua with a request. Caleb is skidding into his tenth decade on earth. He wanted something…the hill country of Canaan.

That’s where the giants lived.

“And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.”” (Joshua 14:10–12, ESV)

What made Caleb want to tackle the giants in his mid-80s? It is what he kept.

If you want to live all the way to the end of your life, you must keep what Caleb kept in his life.

He kept his strength. As they age, many people surrender their strength and health as they settle on the sofa holding a TV remote. The TV and sofa are not your friends. Get up and get going. Join a gym and go. Take a daily walk of at least 30 minutes. Age will claim enough, but you can fight it tooth and nail.

He kept his faith. Caleb remained positive, knowing what God was doing in his life. Caleb remained positive. He did not complain about the world around him. Believe, as he did, that the Lord is with you, and you are never alone.

He kept his vision. Vision is not ocular but spiritual. You can see things clearer when cataracts cloud the eyes. For Caleb, he saw himself conquering giants when everyone else fled. He relished the challenge. What are your dreams? Your goals? Your aims? If you have none, you become a breathing corpse.

So let me ask you. What will you do with the rest of your life? It may be months or years. You can decide to be a Caleb if you will emulate him as you age.

It’s your choice. Are you ready for some giants?