So it is with our lives. Seasons end...children grow up, people move, jobs change. The world seems to never stay the same for long. Inevitably there are transitions. Transitional times are our most vulnerable times. We can feel off balance and uncertain. Our souls long for assurance that our future is safe. As a good friend told me recently, "Our unknown future is safe in the hands of an Almighty God." So what do we do in this meantime? How do we take a step by step walk of faith, when our vision is still unclear?
One of my favorite passages in Scripture is in the Book of Joshua. In Joshua 3, the Isrealites have been in the desert for 40 years after their rescue from slavery in Egypt. With every step they've taken on their journey, God Himself has taught them daily to trust in His faithful provision and protection. At this point in the story, they are camped on the banks of the Jordan River, on the verge of entering The Promised Land. It is so close, they can feel it. Yet, there are specific instructions that God gives His people as they sit at this place of transition...it is a word for them to trust, it is a word for all of us to follow.
"After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: 'When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.'
Joshua told the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.'
Joshua said to the priests, 'Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.' So they took it up and went ahead of them."~Joshua 3:2-5
(emphasis mine)
God's instructions are timeless in this passage:
1) We must be ready to move when He says move. We must be alert and ready to follow Him. Notice that this ability to move and follow have come from a long season of growing trust...trust that has been shaped into faith by the hands of God.
2) We must "consecrate" ourselves to Him. That word means that we are to be set apart for Him, for His purposes. If we are to enter our "promised land," then we cannot follow the ways of the world, we must be different...we speak, we act, we choose, we love in a way that reflects God to the world.
3) We must wait for His lead. Sometimes this is the hardest part. We can see where we want to go..."just let me run on over there"..."I can get there on my own." But when we run ahead of God, we are essentially saying that we want to take control, that we don't trust His timing or His sovereignty. And often we end up tripping or falling in our mad rush to make things happen the way we want.
When we follow His ways, there are sweet promises for the season to come! "You will know which way to go", even if it is somewhere you've never been before and "the Lord will do amazing things among you."
So, if you are like me, in a transitional season...filled with a strange mixture of excitement and uncertainty...remember how much you can trust Him. He WILL lead you to the places He has for you, so be ready, stay close and don't run ahead...He has amazing things coming for you and me!
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