Words spoken from the God of gods to a man who had unimaginably gargantuan shoes to fill-- the very shoes that brought two stone tablets down from the presence of the Holy God.
Yes, this Joshua man, he had a lot ahead of him:
to cross a river
to conquer nations
to seize the Promised Land
And here I am shaking in my shoes to face a day of Biology and Organic Chemistry.
But all that was heard in the midst of daunting was this:
"Joshua, no one will be able to defeat you as long as you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will always be with you; I will never abandon you...
Be sure that the book of the Law is always read in your worship. Study it day and night, and make sure that you obey everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord, am with you wherever you go.'"
-Joshua 1:5,8-9
The success, it begins and ends with the Lord's sure promise of a constant presence.
His constant presence is not the tool for success,
it is success.
Remember that place, that Mount Zion that the Psalmist longed for more than anything, like he was a desert yearning for fresh rain after a thousand years of drought?
"One day spent in you Temple is better than a thousand anywhere else;
I would rather stand at the gate of the house of my God than live in the homes of the wicked.
The Lord is our protector and glorious king, blessing us with kindness and honor.
He does not refuse any good thing to those who do what is right.
Almighty God, how happy are those who trust in You!"
-Psalm 84:10-11
How I camped in these verses over my Christmas break.
How I delighted in moment by moment basking in the presence of God, knowing Him more, adoring Him more deeply, treasuring every Word for what it is: His presence breathed onto a page to be inhaled within my heart.
On a vacation where the days were laden with hot chocolate and gift giving and coffee dates with old dear friends, how could it not be easy to grow in His presence.
No stress.
No distractions.
No commitments, no requirements no demands.
And here He has laid out the big shoes to fill-- the academics, the demands, the successes to be had--but here's the thing: the successes aren't really getting the good grades, keeping up with the studies.
No, the success is continuing to dwell in the Temple every moment with even deeper devotion, with even deeper trust and courage when the environment around me is a whirlwind of temporal worry and earthly expectations.
Making the eternal hour of Calculus a time of worship to the riveting God who invented all of it.
Making the wild days of running about on campus never too busy to be saturated with His Word, retreating to His presence, going out with His presence before me, returning with His presence as a blanket over the reflecting of my day.
The success was already won on the cross: full access to His presence.
We have succeeded in the semester already, fellow students.
Success is alive, and He lives in you.
Know it this semester.
No comments:
Post a Comment