When Stuff Gets Tough
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Josh. 1:7-9
God is the one who instructs us to notice the seasons that He created. The change of seasons gives us a chance to reflect upon the previous season, determine our fruitfulness, and prepare for the next. As a pastor, I have had to wear many hats and done many jobs that carried significant responsibilities. I have learned much. One big truth I have learned and will continue to learn is that you only have gained true wisdom after retrospect. In other words, you learn as you look back. What could I have done differently? What were the successes and struggles? We learn from both. More specifically I have learned that my judgements or criticisms of others often get major revision after I have experienced some of the same pressures. After a while you learn to take it easy on people because unless you have walked in their shoes, you can’t possibly know how you would react. It’s pride and arrogance that cause us to think otherwise. As you may know, pride is poisonous to the Christian.
Joshua above was taking over for Moses. God’s advice? Be strong and courageous and be careful to do what I tell you to do. The people’s response? Sounds good. Only be strong and courageous, and successful. Hmm. Being translated...we are with you if you it goes well for us. What they mean is this: We know that if you are following God, it will go well for us just as it did for Moses. You follow God’s path, there will be success.
As the Lead Pastor at Valley, I am challenged occassionally on the direction that I am leading the church. Most of these challenges are very subtle and patiently redirected. I am not a rookie on the field. But, some do come that truly cause me to have to dig in. It takes strength and courage to lead, but more importantly it takes a God idea that will win the day.
See Joshua knew very well what the goal was. It was to cross over the Jordan and take the land that was promised to Abraham and his seed. This was a divine conquest that he knew was justified by God himself. Imagine the legal ramifications today? Instead of an army facing Joshua, there would be a gaggle of lawyers awaiting him. Yeah, leadership is tough. Yet, Moses wrote the whole Pentateuch as a legal document to eternally justify why the land belonged to them. Joshua was confident that he was doing the right thing. Why? Because God told him so. Now what?
Courage my friends. Jesus told us why we are here. He told us that He would not leave us helpless; He told us that we were to go to the whole world and share the Gospel; He told us to be the light on the hill that was not be ashamed or distracted; He told us to go in His name and serve notice to the enemy that Jesus is Lord; He told us to not give into fear and intimidation – only be strong and courageous AND do what He told the early Church, and now US, and YOU to do.
As a last thought, remember the above words as it concerns you own life and direction for this coming year. Remember them when you think of Valley. To the best of our ability, we are taking Jesus’ words literally and seriously. This isn’t a game. It’s life or death in some cases. Let’s cross over the Jordan together, only be strong and courageous.