One of the habits I'm loving this year is reading through the Bible chronologically with Tara Leigh Cobble on "The Bible Recap" (you can find it in multiple ways, but here's a good starting point: The Bible Recap). I've read through the Bible before, but Tara Leigh's way of summarizing each daily reading has me connecting to the Old Testament in ways I've not done in a while. I love reading verses I've read dozens of times before and learning something new. I mean, it just proves that Scripture is alive and God still speaks! So thankful God gave us His Word, and even more thankful that He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us understand it as we read.
While reading the first few chapters in Deuteronomy, I was catching a glimpse of Moses that I hadn't before. (For a quick overview of the book of Deuteronomy, I love The Bible Project's videos: Deuteronomy.) Essentially, the book is mostly Moses just reminding the Israelites of everything they've experienced since leaving their captivity in Egypt 40 years earlier & encouraging them to remember God's commands going forward. See, Moses is old. And he's been traveling with and leading this large group of Israelites for four decades. Four very trying and frustrating decades. God's been leading them to the Promised Land, but because of their sin & lack of faith - what could have been an 11-day journey turned into a 40 year "adventure" full of lots of hard lessons. Moses won't get to enter the Promised Land himself, but God is about to give it over to the new generation of Israelites set before him. It's like Moses is saying his goodbyes and wanting to leave this group of people with every lesson he can before God calls him home (and they enter into the Promised Land without him). And this is where I felt a connection to Moses: I am feeling time slip away and I want to make sure I've said and done all the things before my time is up.
Maybe everyone feels this way when they enter a new phase of life, but I'm finding myself with a sense of urgency for some things like never before. I guess the quick summary of how I'm feeling is: "Time is flying by. There's so much I feel God has called me to do. Stop wasting time and LET'S GO!!!"
When I read Deuteronomy 1:6, I nearly burst into tears: The LORD our God said to us in Horeb, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain." I felt like God is saying to me: "Jen, you have allowed the mountains in your life to hold you back long enough. I've got so much for you to do. Put your eyes on ME instead of those mountains, and LET'S GO!"
Just like Moses in Deuteronomy, I want to be sure I'm sharing all God's taught me with anyone God has put in my circle. I want my life to have an impact for God's kingdom. I want others to know more about HIM because they knew me.
This also reminds me of my friend, Melissa. I knew her literally since I was born. Our parents were friends long before her and I came into the picture. When we were little, we saw each other quite a bit and had lots of sleepovers. But as we got older, we didn't see much of each other (we lived 30 minutes apart, went to different schools, had different interests). Thanks to social media and our parents remaining friends all these years, however, Melissa and I re-connected more the last 20 years or so. Last February I felt God nudging me to reach out to her and encourage her (she was fighting cancer). We ended up getting together & having a really nice visit - connecting on our love for the Lord and helping people (she was a Biblical counselor, equine therapist, author). Sadly, Melissa lost her battle with cancer very recently, and Dave and I attended her funeral. Wow. What a powerful service it was! I was struck by many things during her service, but mostly this: she was bold in her faith and wasn't afraid to step out where God called. Her impact on others was profound. Her legacy truly inspiring. Dave and I both left her funeral thinking: "I wish we would have spent more time with her" and "It's time for us to step out in faith and leave a legacy too!".
What about you? Are you feeling like there's something God has put on your heart that you haven't yet pursued? Some gift He's given you that you aren't using? Are you determined to use the time you have left on this earth to create the greatest good?
I want to leave a legacy for my children & grandchildren. Someday at my funeral, I hope there are people celebrating the positive influence I had for God's kingdom. I am trying to say a resounding YES every time I hear God calling me to something. My prayer is that I will continue to grow in my faith, and continue to encourage others to do the same.
Are you ready to work on building your legacy too? Well, we've stayed long enough at this mountain...LET'S GO!
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