Reading through my Bible reading program I came upon the transition of power between Moses and Joshua at the end of Deuteronomy. It was therapeutic for me as I am still working my way through this new season in my life.
Several things struck me…
1. He blessed them anyway. As difficult as the Israelites ever were, as the end approached, Moses took all the tribes aside, and blessed each and every one of them anyway. If anyone ever had an excuse to go negative, I would think it would have been him. They were so contrary: planning revolts, complaining, wanting to go back, etc. Evidently, Moses felt that in the end, it wasn’t worth going negative. I think it is safer for our souls that way. No matter how bad it ever gets, I’m going to refuse to surrender my joy.
2. He knew it was all temporary. When God was going to transfer power, God had Moses and Joshua meet in the Tabernacle. Moses had to have been going through all the typical emotions involved in letting go. God wasn’t letting him enter the Promised Land for a previous discretion. I’m sure that was heavy on his mind as well. And then Shaddai showed up at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting…in the form of a vapor, the pillar of cloud. Even God disclosed Godself in a temporary form. That realization blew me away.
What would our ministry look like if we realized we were just God’s temp? Would we take bigger risks? Would we hold on to things a little less tightly? Would we not take offense so much knowing there is nothing for people to take a stab at when we’re just a cloud anyway? Would we delegate more? Would we let go of some things so we could, for the sake of our long term integrity, give ourselves to some others?
We’re the ones that, in the end, God still blesses…amazing.
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