Deuteronomy 34:8–9: “And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended. Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.”

March 21st, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

It was almost time for the Israelites to cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land. Moses had obediently transferred the leadership of God’s people onto Joshua, one of only two men, out of twelve, who had gone to spy out the land the first time and come back with a good report. Joshua was the man of vision God had chosen to lead the next phase of His people’s life as Moses’ time was coming to a close.

Looking back, Moses’ life can be easily divided into 3 distinct 40-year periods. He was a man who lived his first 40 years in the palaces of Egypt but found that to be not enough. Then he spent another 40 years as a shepherd in the wilderness, which he found to be just barely enough. And then in the last 40 years of his life, he stepped out in faith, becoming the “friend of God” and leader of God’s people. He saw miracle after miracle and finally found life to be more than enough. Moses chose to leave his own comfort zone in order to taste what else God might have for him. He came to the end of his life with very few regrets.

Are we willing to step out in faith and follow God, moving out of our comfort zones for God’s purposes, even when we can’t see the road ahead? Will we come to the end of our lives with few regrets? Oh yes, there will always be events we would like to live over so we could do a better job the second time around. There will always be what-ifs in every person’s life, but at the end no one wants to look back at a life that was lived too safely. We don’t want to have regrets about the things we didn’t attempt, things we could have tried for God. We don’t want to have more disappointments about the risks we didn’t take, than the ones we did take. We need to walk not in the safe-zone but in the faith-zone, attempting things for God that are so great they’re bound to fail if He’s not in them. “Ventures in faith” should be a normal part of every believer’s life. Moses should inspire us to follow God in the same way he did, as a man who stepped out after the burning bush to a great venture in faith.

“LORD, we don’t want to lead a safe life but a fruitful one for You. Make us useful servants for You this day.”

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Deuteronomy 34 KJV

¹ And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, ² And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, ³ And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. ⁴ And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. ⁵ So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. ⁶ And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. ⁷ And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. ⁸ And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. ⁹ And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses. ¹⁰ And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, ¹¹ In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, ¹² And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.