Daily Devotional for Thursday, September 8

Passage Completed

I have had the occasion in my lifetime to take some epic road trips. Some have included leisurely taking in the sites along the way. Others have been taken with speed to push the boundaries of safety and legality. No matter the pace of a trip, there is nothing so grand as hearing the GPS speak the words “you have arrived at your destination.” 

Forty years the Israelites had journeyed in the wilderness with the Promised Land as their destination. Now they had arrived at the place God had promised. Imagine the joy and relief as they crossed the Jordan River into the land that God had prepared for them. A sense of joy and awe must have overtaken them as they stepped foot onto their new land. A sense of anticipation must have swept over them as they considered the battles that would be fought to take full ownership of the land. 

While the destination was of great importance, God did not want the people of Israel to ignore what He had done along the journey. As with any long road trip, we can get so focused on our destination that we fail to soak in what is happening on the journey itself. God had commanded them to set up the monument of twelve stones so they would remember all He had done and testify of His greatness to their children for generations.

REFLECTION: Do not get so caught up on dwelling in your heavenly destination that you fail to grasp what God is doing along the journey.

Steve Ridings