Brighter and Brighter

Yesterday I heard Beth Moore speaking from Deuteronomy 3, at our women's Bible study. That's the passage that tells how Israel finally crossed the Jordan River to get to the Promised Land, after forty years in the desert.

In those days the Jordan was a significant river and crossing it could be treacherous. God held back the waters upstream, and gave them dry land to walk on, but the people had to have courage and faith to cross on over. To make it more challenging, after the whole nation had crossed over, twelve men were told to go back into the middle of the river and collect a big rock to use in making a monument on the other side.

I was struck by the fact that the middle of the river is not only the deepest and most treacherous part, but also the farthest point from each shore. If the water suddenly rushed in at that point, it meant death for each man who had obediently picked up his rock. The twelve men, who had already crossed over once with their families, needed a lot of courage to go back and get those stones. They did it out of sheer obedience to God who wanted that memorial to stand forever as a testimony to what He had done for Israel.

Another thing that strikes me is that anyone in Israel who refused to cross the Jordan that day, on the dry river bottom, would never have that opportunity again. There was only one chance to cross under God's provision, and the crossing was necessary to get into the wonderful land that had been promised to them. I sure wouldn't want to have missed my opportunity to cross in the midst of the miracle of God's provision for me if I had been among them.

I kind of feel like I have come to my Jordan lately, moving from the first half to the second half of my life. I have crossed over from one big part of my journey into another. Now I can either stand on the shore looking back, lost in memories of what was, or I can step into the riverbed, gather up some memorial stones and set up a monument to how the Lord has led me until now.

The temptation is to stand on the new shore gazing back at what used to be. The Lord knows that. I think that is why He had Israel pause on that shore and build the monument. It was better to have the monument to look at than to keep trying to gaze back into the land from which they came.

I know that one of the promises of this life with the Lord is that it grows brighter and better each day, but also that my human mind is limited in its understanding of that. Transitions are hard--all of us know that. I think the thing we have to do is gather enough memorial stones from where we have been to build a monument that will tell of the great work of God in our lives until now.

Israel's monument was meant to provide answers to the generations that would follow. That's another thing I want to keep in mind. In case my children or grandchildren ever ask about my life, I want there to be a monument to God standing in the middle of the story.

Once that monument is in place I can turn toward the Promised Land. Who knows what is waiting for me on the next leg of the journey?

Proverbs 4:18

"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,

shining ever brighter till the full light of day."