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26 AUGUST 2024 devotional

Writer's picture: Parkview BlogsParkview Blogs

“But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.” (Deuteronomy 3:28)

Ah yes, the change of command ceremony. I went throught many of these in my years in the military. Everything was handled with pomp and circumstance – rigid to the core. The out-going commander would pass on the unit or company flag to the new commander in front of the unit or company. The new commander would recognize the First Sergeant, give a speech about what he expected from us, then all would file out to their respective places. The out-going commander would then pass on pertinent information, the First Sergeant would brief the new commander about how things get done around here, and there would usually be some ceremonial party later on to welcome the new guy. But that was the military.

It has been my experience that we Christians don’t operate quite that way. We tend to grasp desperately to our positions, refuse to transfer the responsibility and power over to the new/gaining powers. We have even invented new titles for the out-going or old leaders like “...Emeritus” or something else as distinguished. That way he or she could continue to wield power in the background and be available should the need arise.

In our verse today we see God giving Moses very direct and specific guidance on how to pass on the baton to the new generation. Each new phase, each new generation, handles situations differently – mainly because the battlefield is different now that it was back on our time. I have seen over and over again pastors, bishops, and other leaders grasp and clutch onto their positions of power in an effort to not become irrelevant. I get it. We originally had the vision – much like Abraham’s father, Terah, was given the vision, but we failed to achieve what God wanted during our lifetimes. It becomes necessary for us to, then, pass on the vision and the promises to those who will come after us. It is uncomfortable to admit, but we grow old, we grow weak, we lose influence, and (this hurts the most) we become distanced and out-of-touch with how things operate now. It doesn’t matter if we are addressing our children, our flocks (as pastors), our co-workers (as we retire), or whomever. Times and seasons change and we must become comfortable with that change.

It is easy to become frustrated because WE got the vision originally, WE talked with God in our private time, WE started the whole process. Yet we must remember – it is a process. As Paul would later write, “One plants, another waters, and yet another harvests the crop, but all work toward the same yield” (sorry, this is my interpretation not scripturally accurate). We may find ourselves begging God for more time, forgiveness for not achieving all He asked of us, or whatever. But the fact remains that we must pass it on to the next generation.

In my lifetime I have seen pastors literally die in the pulpit rather than yield to the new leaders God has prepared. Let us not be one of those. Truly that may be the case with you right now. You have preached the Word, you have tried to endow them with the wisdom you have gained, you may have done everything you know to do. But the time has come for you to step aside. Don’t disgrace God and hamstring the Kingdom by clutching to those things you have been commanded to pass on. Perhaps the vision you have received is for two or three generations to come. Think about the prophets of the Old Testament. They received supernatural revelation about things to come centuries in the future! Yet they passed on the information to those who came behind them and they, in turn, did the same. God’s Word will not return void, but will accomplish all it was sent forth to achieve in its time. So be it. There is a time and season for everything. Understand that, receive it, and pass it on to the new generation coming up. In the fullness of time it WILL come to pass. Trust God. Trust His promises.

If this message applies to you right now, I encourage you to strongly do what God is asking you to do. If you must, remain available as a counselor or reference, but step aside and let the new ones come into their own. God has a plan. And that plan WILL come to fruition – in its time. Trust His timing.

Be blessed.

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