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"When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.” (Joshua 3:3-4)
Mitch, who was new to the outdoors, and I were hiking an obscure foothill of the Olympic Mountains in Washington state. Well, to be honest we were bushwhacking, but I didn’t tell Mitch that. We made our way down a streambed, through a steep-sided ravine, fought our way up a slope clinging to roots and clumps of bushes all the way up. Every few feet Mitch asked me, “There’s a trail at the top of this hill, right?” I assured him that there would be a trail. We reached the top of the hill and began working our way through a tangle of Scotch Broom (a Pacific Northwest plant, grows chest-high and is particularly obnoxious to walk through), down a gentle grade through thick timber and open meadows. Finally Mitch asked me, “Jeff — where’s the trail?” I answered in a voice that I tried to make inspiring and adventurous, “We’re making the trail!” Mitch was not amused. He threatened to turn around and walk back to the car. Trouble is, I told him, we turned around climbing out of the ravine back there. Now the car is in front of us — the shortest way back is the way we’re going. He had little choice but to follow, threatening me with all kinds of bodily harm the whole way back.
Have you ever felt like Mitch? It’s difficult to go where you have not been before without a guide, or worse yet with a guide who is untrustworthy. The Israelites had spent the last forty years wandering in the wilderness, but they had never crossed over into the Promised Land. So God directed Joshua and Joshua directed the priests to carry the ark of the covenant — God’s presence among them — across the Jordan ahead of them. The ark became a visual, tangible way for God to lead his people. God promised to lead his people into Canaan if they would follow his guidance.
Not only did he send the ark ahead of them, but he also spoke his word to them. Joshua spoke to the people and said, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God” (verse 9). They needed not only God’s presence ahead of them (the ark) but they also needed God’s direction — his word — to help them understand how to follow.
So it is for us. Day after day we face situations we’ve never faced before. There are no rehearsals in life. So we need to pay attention to God’s leading, his presence. We need to ask ourselves, “What is God up to? Where is he going?” Then we need to gather together and carefully listen to the words of the Lord our God. This is why we gather for worship week after week. We desperately need to hear God’s word together and to talk together about what God is up to, where he is leading.
I hope you will make it a priority to be in worship this week. If your summer weekends involve a lake cabin or camping trips, make it a priority to find a place to worship where you are. If that’s not possible, consider gathering those you’re with, reading Joshua 3 together, and talking about how God is leading you, what he is up to. If you’re close to Elk River, make it a priority to be at Central for worship, to join with God’s people and listen to the words of God together. We’ll be considering Joshua 3, and the questions of how we prepare to be led into the Promised Land. The answers may surprise you!
Hope to see you in worship this Sunday!
Pastor Jeff
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