To Encourage You

Joshua 3:3-4 “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

As you and I travel through life, it is inevitable that we will face things we have never faced before.  Life never seems to stand still. As I look back over my own life, I recall so well all the new things I’ve faced: the beginning of grade school, high school, college, and grad school; marriage; a new job and ever-changing responsibilities in that job; children – and raising children; retirement – and what to do in that retirement; and it continues, new things all the time.  But then I think back to how the Lord has led in all of this.  Sometimes I followed Him better than others, but always He was there for me in one way or another.  The God Who has promised “I will never leave you or forsake you” indeed never did – nor will He in the future. I have His word on it!  And so it is for each and every person who has placed their faith in Him. 

In the verses above we have an example of the Lord’s leading as Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land. As they prepared to cross the Jordan River, which was at flood stage, by the way, Joshua told them to follow the ark of the covenant.  They were to watch where the priests carried it, and wherever it went they were to follow. It was in this way that they would know the way they were to go.  So, what was in this ark?  There were things such as the Ten Commandments, representing God’s Law, the mercy seat, representing His grace, a jar of manna, representing God’s provision, and Aaron’s rod that budded, representing resurrection life.  All these things pointed ultimately to Jesus, and as we follow Him, we have confidence that He will lead us in the way of life, guiding us step by step, come what may. 

So, are you facing something new in your life right now?  Are you about to go into some situation or face some challenge, and “you have not passed this way before”?  Remember, it is God’s Word that “is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105), so as we keep our eyes on it, as we trust and obey the One from Whom it came, He will lead us “in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). 

May the Lord help us to follow Him all the days of our life, especially as we face those things that we’ve never faced before – for though they may be new to us, there is nothing new to Him, and the One Who has promised to never leave us nor forsake us is surely with us all the way!