“In this wilderness your bodies will fall – every one of you twenty years old or ore who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against Me.” (Numbers 14:29 NIV)
Our pastor pointed it out again yesterday; the stark reality that only a fraction of the Israelites completed their journey (from Egypt to Israel) and possessed their inheritance. I consider the millions – a people group somewhere near the population of San Antonio, moving across the desert, most of the original generation left behind along the route. We remember that the Israeli exodus is a type of our own exodus: from slavery (Egypt), through sanctification (wilderness), to heaven (the Promised Land). Suddenly their failure to follow through to their designation matters very much.
I look at the church today and I see it; the divisions, the injuries, the distractions. Our enemy is hard a work to drag us off destination to send us spiraling into lesser matters. It hurts to see good people exchange the truth of God for lies.
Years ago, I heard Jeannie Mayo in a late-night session at a youth conference. She chided us “The crowd thins the further you go.” Now the grey hairs are winning the war on my head and I realize how right she is. The further we journey with God, the lonelier it gets. Christian maturity isn’t everybody’s chief aim. Other priorities sneak in and steal us off course.
Pay attention! Realize what might be sacrificed. A little pleasure, a little comfort, a little giving in to our flesh today can get in the way of our desired destination. Dare I say it? Today’s politics won’t amount to a hit of beans in the light of eternity; unless we allow them to corrupt our character and drag us off the path of Christ-following. Decide today to be a part of the remnant who remains on course and check your heart again every day thereafter.
“You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily no the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow His directions doing your best to find Him. That’s right – don’t go off on your own, you walk straight along the road He set. You, God, prescribed the right way to life; now You expect us to live it.” (Psalm 119:1-4 MSG)
Lord, thank You for sending reminders about the importance of staying on course. We learn from the Israelites that only a fraction of us finish the race well. Help us keep that in mind every day. We want to live for You in all we do. Amen.