23 Year Old Brain, 31 Year Old Body

I’m an idiot.

I just recently signed up for an event called Tough Mudder. It’s basically 12 miles of obstacles designed by British special forces. The estimated completion time is 3 hours. I’m really not quite sure why I signed up. As I looked at the pictures and videos from past and current Tough Mudder events, I must have thought for a moment that I was young again; that my body could withstand the torture; that I could actually be an asset to the team I was about to join…now I’m having my doubts!

Reality Check

For those of us 30 and older, we’ve all had lapses in judgement regarding our physical abilities.  The guy who jumps into a pickup game of whatever.  The woman who takes off after her dog that just got loose.  Whatever the activity, we learn quickly that our brains might be 23, but our bodies aren’t.  We don’t run as fast, we can’t push as hard, and we certainly don’t recover quickly.  Slowly but surely we become more aware of our limitations, and we become more reserved about the activities we’re willing to participate in.

Caleb: Mr. Die Hard

Enter Caleb.  When we find Caleb in Joshua 14, he’s 85 years old…but he claims to be as strong as he was when he was 45 (still seems kinda old, but hey, I’m feeling younger already :-).  Caleb’s ready to travel, and he’s ready to fight for the inheritance that was promised to him 40 years ago by Moses (and God) when he returned from spying out the land of Canaan.  Has he lost his mind?  Has he had a lapse in judgement? Was this his “Tough Mudder” moment?  No…what he realized is this: it’s never too late to live out your faith.  It didn’t matter that he was 85.  He had faith that God had preserved him and kept him well to fulfill his purpose in driving out the Anakites and taking possession of the hill country promised to him.  He claims in Joshua 14:12, “…if the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the LORD said.” This old guy is ready to go into battle!

Caleb’s faith had a firm foundation in the promises and power of almighty God.  Apparently, he did not forget those promises.  Apparently, he believed that the God who parted the Red Sea and preserved Israel through the wilderness could also secure the promised land for he and his family.

Expectation Management

We expect our bodies to lack in performance as we get older…but what about our faith?  Are you living with spiritually low expectations?  Are you content with living out a “safe” faith…which, when it comes right down to it isn’t really even faith at all (at least not in God)? What if every believer, including you, began recognizing the promises and power of God the way that Caleb did.  What if we lived out the kind of faith that went against our “better judgement” (humanly speaking)?  What if the faith we possessed motivated us to action?

It’s never too late to live out your faith!

**Disclaimer:  this post is meant to encourage spiritual faith awakening…do not sign up for Tough Mudder just because Titus was dumb enough to do so :-)

Titus Curtis
Titus has a degree in cross-cultural ministry and was on staff at Faith from 2000-2012.