30 of 52 Voices August 7, 2014

The C3 Leaders devotion is a peer weekly reflection from business leaders related to their journey with Christ. Each weekly devotion will be written by a different author from among the C3 Leaders community.

As we go through this next year together, we pray that these words and reflections will encourage you in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

By Steve Herman Partner at Trutina Financial

Caleb’s Way

The desert trudge was over. The river had been crossed, the great walled city of Jericho was nothing more than a boulder field. Many of the enemies vanquished. The lot line adjustments were being made. It was Caleb’s time to make a request for his land, to settle down and enjoy life. But Caleb saw it differently. Settling down, taking it easy, not a chance! No quit in him. He wanted more. No one would question a decision to relax, spend more time sitting in the sun, maybe hunt or fish more often. He had put in his time. Forty years of living under Egyptian rule. The oppression and hard work had honed him to be strong, bold, and optimistic. What was he; a Brick-maker, Farmer, Sheepherder? All we know is he was different, a leader, chosen from the masses. He loved a challenge and he got plenty of them over the next 40 years wandering in wasteland, fighting the elements, hostile tribes, dealing with people who were never happy with their circumstances. A seaside villa was sounding very good!

Finally, the journey ended. It was time to claim his reward then head for the seaside villa. What, did we hear him right? He said this in Joshua 14: 10 “Now, as you can see, the LORD has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise — even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old.  11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then.  12 So I’m asking you to give me the hill country that the LORD promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the Anakites living there in great, walled cities. But if the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the LORD said.”

“Give me the hill country where the giants live!” He was ready for more. There was no hint of slowing down, no retirement in the short-term, no retirement party. There was work to do! Caleb’s way was to scan the horizon and tackle new challenges. As they used to say, he had gumption! The story is about attitude! He wasn’t done until God said he was done. I think about retirement, my horizon is less than ten years. I will change course and pace. No one will consider it out of place for me to stop, lose the shoes, prop the feet. Society says I earned it. We all have a time horizon. We hire people to help us prepare towards it. It feels natural, except when I read about Caleb, I question my thinking on what retirement looks like, or how I intend my life tape to play. I admire Caleb. I think I want to be more like him but that feels scary unless I have community.

C3 is community! We gather to encourage, we gather to build, to restore, to help others stay in the journey. We need to think differently than society tells us to think because God calls us to think differently. We choose to work and serve for different reasons. We believe in long-term unless God decides short-term. So, when I scan the horizon and see determined leaders, amazing women and men that God has infused with the vision of C3, I see incredible accomplishment, great kingdom building potential. I say give us the hill country where the giants live. God will go before us and come behind us!

I applaud your great work!

Steve Herman

You can contact Steve Herman at SteveH@TrutinaFinancial.com