Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.” –Deuteronomy 34:4
Most people I know have that list of people they want to talk to and questions they will ask when we get to Heaven. Somewhere on my many lists of lists, there is a simple question I have for Moses. It goes like this…”Dude, what was it like to hear those words?” I just want to know what it must have felt like to have gotten to the edge of the promised land, seen it all, and then hear the words…” you will not cross over into it.” BOOM.
Have you ever been there? Have you ever chased, discerned, given, hoped, and sacrificed for God’s will? Have you been on the edge of what you thought was to be His vision for your life only to hear those words..”you will not cross over into it.” Where do you go from there? Where do you begin to put it all back together and understand that God is still in control. God is STILL on His throne and the journey has been worth the moment. I found an anchor in verse 7 that we might hold onto:
Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone – Deuteronomy 34:7
“His eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.” I love that. Moses had just completed the ultimate “been there, done that, got the t-shirt” and was left on the outside. Although he died at that spot, his eyes were not weak and he never lost strength. There’s something there for all of us. If you feel like you’re standing where Moses stood and on the outside of what you thought God’s purpose and vision was, don’t lose strength. Don’t let your eyes grow weary. There’s still work to be done. His ways are not our ways. As I type this post, I am reminded that I am “preaching to the choir” here. I have got to find a way to be okay when I hear the words…..
“Are you willing to live a life that honors God and reflects His character and leaves the outcome to Him? Are you willing to live by faith and trust Him to be faithful? There will be days on this journey of faith when the outcome will be clear, and you will not like the implications. On those days you must, like Jesus, declare ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42)”
– Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus (pg 81)
Originally posted April 17, 2009
