There’s an interesting passage in the Old Testament book of Joshua, that I believe can speak to us in our current moment in time in which we find ourselves with one year ending and another about to begin. The story can be found in Joshua chapter three.
The background of the story is that the Hebrew people have left Egypt, they have been wandering in the wilderness getting Egypt out of them. (Remember, they’d been in Egypt for over 400 years.) The time has finally come for the Hebrew people to enter the Promised Land that God has promised to Abraham so many years before. The only thing that was in their way was the Jordan River. Also keep in mind that Moses has just died and Joshua has been appointed as the new leader of the Hebrew people.
Joshua sends the officers, or his leadership out among the people with a simple message, “When you see the Chest of God, or the Ark of the Covenant (which represented God in their midst), move…follow it. Then you will know the way you should go, even though you’ve never traveled this way before.” Then the rest of chapter three and four in the book of Joshua tells of the Hebrew people crossing the River Jordan (the second time a miracle happened that caused the water to be separated so the Hebrew people could walk through on dry land) and enter into the Promised Land.
What strikes me about this story from the book of Joshua, is that it is fitting for us as individuals, and also as a church family, as we are about to enter a new year. We are about to leave something behind as we also enter into something new…that we may not fully know or realize.
What I mean is that the past several years have been very difficult for churches. The Covid pandemic brought new realities that many of us couldn’t anticipate or fully understand. Our own denomination’s struggles and splintering have been very painful and even unsettling to go through. And the fallout isn’t over yet as General Conference will be meeting in just a few months.
For many churches this has been such a difficult time that it has been easy to lose one’s purpose while dealing with so much turmoil. I have talked with our church leadership about this and we all feel the same, that we too have lost a bit of the sense of our purpose as a part of the Body of Christ here in Mitchell, South Dakota. So, during 2024, we are going to be undergoing a process of asking lots of questions, praying a lot, and asking God what our purpose is to be as a part of God’s Kingdom work here on earth and in this community.
I believe Joshua’s words are fitting for us as we prepare to enter a new year. We all need to be watching the “presence” of God in our midst…and when we see God on the move, we need to follow along. This way we too will know the way to go even though we’ve never traveled this way before. I ask that we all join together in prayer as we say goodbye to 2023 and enter into 2024. There will be a focused prayer opportunity coming up in mid-January that I invite our entire church family to participate with.
Like the Hebrew people of old, may we be ready to move when and where we see God on the move. And may we allow God to speak to us as we seek the purpose that God has for us as we live out God’s Kingdom here in Mitchell. Happy New Year Everyone…it’s going to be a great adventure and journey!
Pastor Keith