Friday, March 16, 2012

The Journey

Then the Lord said to Moses, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross over it.'" -Deuteronomy 34:4 (NIV)

My wife's father travels a lot as he plants and nurtures churches across South America. Because he flies so often, he accumulates frequent flyer miles. One year when Ivana and I were planning a vacation to Hawaii, her dad gave us enough frequent flyer miles to cover our flight.

One of the things that I was most excited about was the possibility of flying first-class for the first time. With my father-in-law's frequent flyer miles, we were on "first-class standby." If there were any unclaimed seats in first class at check-in, we would be bumped up to first-class for the first time on our first trip to Hawaii. If there were no first-class seats available, we'd remain in coach.

We were flying in the "off-season" so I felt certain that we'd get the first-class seats. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the airport we were told that all first-class seats had been filled. The airline would be happy to put us in the first row behind first-class as this row allegedly had a little more leg room than most of the other seats in coach.

I can't begin to tell you how difficult it was to be able to see into the first-class section of the plane but not be able to sit in the first-class section of the plane. It made the ten hour flight seem even longer when I was faced with the reality of just how close we were to the "Promised Land" but that we would not be able to enter into it.

That's why my heart hurts for Moses. In the assigned scripture for today, God took Moses up to the top of Mount Nebo to see the land that had been promised by God. But even though he could see it, Moses was told that he would not enter into it. A reason is not given in this particular scripture, but many scholars believe that it was because Moses had disobeyed God (see Numbers 20:12) and because sin always has consequences.

Even though he didn't get to go into the Promised Land, God still blessed Moses. And when Moses died, scripture says that since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, who had seen the Lord face to face. No prophet has ever shown the mighty power and awesome deeds that Moses did.

I didn't get to sit in first-class on my trip to Hawaii. I'm still waiting to fly first-class for the first time. But even though I didn't get to enter into the Promised Land of First Class, I still got to see Hawaii. It's the most beautiful place that I've ever seen. Every day we were there, I came face to face with the majesty of God. And though my legs got cramped from flying 10 hours in coach to get there, I was still thankful for the journey and thankful that it brought me closer to God.

I pray that Moses, despite all of the difficulties he encountered as he journeyed toward the Promised Land, was still thankful for the journey and the way the journey brought him closer to God. And my prayer today is that God would grant you the grace to see that the journey is as important (if not more so) than the destination.




If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's suggested readings are Joshua 1-2, Psalm 37, and 1 Corinthians 3. Sunday's suggested readings are Joshua 3-6, and 1 Corinthians 4.

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