The Assurance of Faith

Deuteronomy 34: 1-4, 9

“1 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, 3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

“9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.”

Howard’s Knob looks down over the town of Boone, NC where I went to college. To this day, I love driving to the top of it and looking out over the town.  I am filled with a sense of peace.  It is like I am looking at home.

I think Moses must have felt the same way as he gazed at the promised land from Mount Nebo.  He was looking at home.  He had led the Jews out of Egypt, through many hardships, and God had guided and provided for them.  And now, after 40 years of wandering, he knew the journey was over; that the Israelites were now ready to become a nation and that a new leader, Joshua, waited in the wings to take them there.

Moses died, assured that Israel, the nation, would become a reality.  

As Christians, the assurance of God’s presence and God’s redeeming love rests in our faith.  No matter what hardships or suffering we endure, “nothing can separate us from the love of God revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

No matter that the journey is long and hard, God is with us.  And we will dwell with God.

May the love of Christ be with you

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)