Core Scripture:
Joshua 23:14 NASB
“Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; they all have [i]been fulfilled for you, not [j]one of them has failed.
As I worked through the instructions for this project, I searched for an angle from which to approach this essay. The verse above caught my attention and kept it throughout the observation step. I believe that God wanted to remind me of some things and really positioned me to take them to heart.
The verse above is the core verse for this essay. Joshua is near the end of his time as the leader of Israel. He calls the twelve tribes together in order for them to renew their covenant with and before God. As a precursor to the final renewal of the covenant, Joshua reminds Israel of their history, both recent and ancient. Their recent history encompassed their own entry into the promised land and all of the great victories that allowed them to conquer it and make it their home. Their ancient history included the retelling of God’s covenant with Abraham and how He kept His promises to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Joshua also recounted how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt, giving them victory over Pharoah that would cause nations to fear their God for generations. The key point that Joshua sought to emphasize was “God kept His promise to you. God is faithful to His Word. Remember that!”. He reminded them that their success to that point in their history was due to Him and that their future success would also be because of Him.
As a recent retiree, I find myself at a crossroads. What next? The path before me seems unclear at times. I’m older, I have concerns about my health, as well as the health of my wife. My career was trade-related. Though I sat behind a desk during the waning years of my career, the skill-set that I brought to the table was mechanical and technical. If I wanted to get back into the industry, I would find myself in competition with much younger men whose training, in most cases, exceeds mine.
That’s OK. I enjoy retirement. And with the onset of the pandemic over the last year, I’m perfectly happy sitting at home. However, I am still learning how to manage my household with fewer resources. There are still challenges and uncertainties that every new morning brings. That brings to a second verse that I would like to offer to support my argument.
Supporting Scripture:
Joshua 1:3 NASB
3 “...Every place on which the sole of your foot steps, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.“
Before God brought Israel into the promised land, there was an event that threatened to negatively impact their trajectory and God’s purpose for them in a terrible way. Moses died. So grievous was the effect on these Hebrew wanderers that they mourned for a full forty days. I’m sure many of them could not a path to inhabiting the promised land that did not include Moses. But God….
God spoke to Joshua. Selah. God spoke to Joshua, Moses’ appointed successor, and assured him that He (God) would be with them and that He would go before them, as in the past, and lead them into the land.
As I stated before, God reminded me of some things as I worked through the observation step, and then into the application step of this project. There are four or five pivotal incidents that occur in a lifetime. Incidents so significant that they literally cause a pivot or a directional change in your life. I have had several, but this one sticks out because it applies to the place that I find myself in today.
In August of 1978, just after graduating from trade-school, where I received training in electronics, I was granted a job interview with a large international electronics manufacturer. The interview went well. I was to start work within the next week or so in the field in which I was trained. What happened next was one of those ‘pivotal’ moments I mentioned earlier. As I was walking down the hall, post-interview, I was just looking around at everything before me: the office areas, the expansive hallways, just the spectacle of a large corporate entity. I remember looking up, toward the ceiling and hearing a voice, so arresting as to be almost audible, say to me, “You will be here forty years.” I wasn’t yet a Christian, but I was raised among Christians who had great influence on my upbringing and understanding. I was convinced that God had given me that job and that He intended for me to remain there until retirement.
Over the years, through life’s many challenges, one thing I never worried about was whether or not I would remain employed. My career with that company spanned four decades and one year and relocated me to three different cities in the process. While I had many other opportunities present themselves to me in that time, I never questioned that I was planted in the place where God wanted me to be.
But now I’m retired and faced with the uncertainty of tomorrow. While I’ve never doubted God, I sometimes doubt me. That’s perfectly normal. But God. Working on this project allowed God to remind me of His faithfulness to His Word. His faithfulness to His purpose for my life. Like Israel, I am at a pivotal point in my life. In Israel’s case, Joshua was reminding a new generation of God’s goodness. He reminded them that every promise God made to them had been kept. And he encouraged them that what God had started in them, He was able to complete.
NT Application Scripture(s)
Philippians 1: 6 NASB
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Whatever happens next, God has assured me by His Spirit and by His Word that He cares about me and that He will continue to care for me. I am encouraged because we have history together. I know I can trust Him. The old Spiritual proclaims, “We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord. Trusting in His Holy Word. He’s never failed me yet.”
Hebrews 10:23 NASB
23 Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
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