“The church has always lived in changing times, even if today’s changes might feel more aggressive and chaotic than before. But our hope has never rested in the stability of society. It rests in the stability of God” - Ligonier
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Okay, then. When facing a new path, we recognize the goodness of God’s will, we trust his will and direction for us, and we obey.
But how? We already know that there’s something within us that discourages us from obeying—even compels us to disobey. And even when that spirit isn’t at the controls, we find ourselves disobeying despite our best intentions.
So does God just sing us a chorus of “Trust and Obey” and wave happily from the dock as we sail off into waters we don’t have the ability to navigate?
Of course not.
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God continues to speak to Joshua, instructing him on how to handle what’s coming.
… being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go (Jos 1.7b).
In the New American Commentary, David M. Howard notes,
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God makes, and keeps, promises for his people. How do we respond to that? In his opening words to Joshua, God has some imperatives—commands—to follow up his indicatives—his statements of truth, his promises.
6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous …
Is this just “suck it up, buttercup”? “Keep calm, and carry on”? “Keep a stiff upper lip”?
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God has assured Joshua that he has promised Israel the Land and that his plans will be accomplished. But there is in all of us this thread of fear, of doubt. “There’s a plan, but …”
Mike Tyson, former world heavyweight boxing champion, famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Yes, God has a plan, and he wants the best for us. But is he now just standing on the dock, smiling at and waving to Joshua as Israel sails off into unknown seas?
I speak as a fool.
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God has issued a command to Joshua—one that sounds dangerous. You don’t just wade into a flooding river with all your stuff, and hope for the best. But Joshua, who believed God’s promise to give his people the Land when 10 of the other 11 spies didn’t, believes him now, and he will obey. And, undoubtedly to everyone’s astonishment, the river will stop for them and, metaphorically speaking, motion them to cross.
But they don’t know that yet. God continues his speech to Joshua by telling him what lies ahead.
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I’ve already published a couple of posts on my retirement, one on the why and one on the how. Now I’d like to exegete a biblical passage that I think sheds some light on a major life transition. It has already informed my thinking, and I’m confident that it will inform others facing transitions—retirement, perhaps, or other significant events.
“…what the church really said was, ‘Pastor, we’re dying on the vine. We need somebody who is old and can help us make changes without blowing it apart.’” - GARBC
“ ‘The older generation is not dumb,’ Dave says, having learned a hard lesson. ‘It’s not like they did everything wrong and now we’re gonna do it so much better. We need to embrace things that worked in the past, work together, and make changes moving forward.’” - GARBC
“Get comfortable with uncertainty. The future likely involves ambiguity and change across the social, technological, and economic landscapes. We’re already experiencing changes faster than at any time in history” - Phil Cooke
