"You have never passed this was before."
- Joshua 3:4
The gates to another year have swung open. Before us lie the unborn
days, hours,and minutes that are beyond our control. Re-echoes of the
words of Joshua, "You have not passed this way before." New paths await
us as we move into the unknown future.
The Israelites found the way into the Promised Land blocked by the
overflowing Jordan river. The forty years of wandering seemed doomed to
failure at the very time when the goal was in sight. The prospect would
have been disheartening but . . .
"You have never passed this was before."
- Joshua 3:4
The gates to another year have swung open. Before us lie the unborn days, hours,and minutes that are beyond our control. Re-echoes of the words of Joshua, "You have not passed this way before." New paths await us as we move into the unknown future.
The Israelites found the way into the Promised Land blocked by the overflowing Jordan river. The forty years of wandering seemed doomed to failure at the very time when the goal was in sight. The prospect would have been disheartening but for the fact that God's chosen people were guided by the Ark of the covenant, the symbol of God's never-failing presence. When the feet of the priests who carried the sacred Ark trouched the water, the rusing stream paused in its course and stood like a protecting wall on the one side. The remaining water flowed off and left a dry path for the homeward bound nation.
We Christians are on our way toward the Promised Land of which Canaan was but a faint shadow. Green pastures and refreshing springs will greet us on our journey. But there may also be for us the overflowing river and the impassable crossings.
Christian friends, We however, can face the future confidently. We have a covenant with God, founded upon the perfect and complete atonement made for us by God's only-begotten Son on Calvary's Cross. We can find it in God's Word and the Sacraments. Because of it the year 2008 will be another "year of the LORD," a year of grace. Just place your hand by faith in your heavenly Father's hand, and let Him lead the way.
Into His hands I lay the fears that haunt me,
The dread of future ills that may befall;
Into His hands I lay the doubts that taunt me,
And rest securely, trusting Him for all.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - God does not ask us to where He does not lead.