Vezot ha’Bracha “And this is the blessing”
Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12
Joshua 1:1–18
Revelation 19-22

Step by Step

Years ago a man named Rich Mullins wrote a song which has always been a favorite of mine. The name of the song is "Step by Step." It is a song that tells the story of the faithfulness of HaShem to lead us through life. An underlying theme of the song is that it speaks of His faithfulness to His plan for the redemption of man. It is a song that speaks very clearly in light of the scriptures we read this week.

As I think back to our year of the Torah and the Renewed Covenant readings it has truly been a year of walking step by step. We have seen so many parallels throughout the year. We have seen promises made and promises kept. No doubt it has been a year in which HaShem has built our faith through His word.
However it is a very interesting dichotomy of readings we find ourselves dealing with. On the one hand we read of the life of Moses and the passing of the baton of faith to Joshua. On the other hand we read of the end of this age and the everlasting promises yet to come. The one thing that ties the two together is the word faithfulness. We are once again reminded that His faithfulness is not based on any one man being faithful, but rather it is based on Him being faithful. To me that is a very comforting thought.

It is comforting because I know that no matter what man does, in the end the promises of Father will be accomplished in full. It takes the pressure off as I am once again reminded that the end of The Book will come about no matter what man or demon does to try and thwart it. This allows each of us to focus not on making sure the plan unfolds, but rather on what our part is in the plan.

Through the past years I have spent untold hours thinking of the steps which are revealed in this week’s readings. I have thought about and tried to envision what it will be like to live out the words of these last chapters of Revelation. But the streets of gold and gates of pearl have not captivated my thoughts as much as the accounts of the lives of Moses and Joshua, revealed to us in the last chapter of Deuteronomy and the first chapter of Joshua. I cannot help but wonder which of these two men my life will pattern in the end. I wonder this because I believe that you and I stand today in a similar position to these two men. We also stand on the edge of a bank preparing to cross over. The question that is never far from my thoughts today is if I will be one who walks across the river or will I come up one step short in the end?

I seriously doubt that I am the only one with thoughts like this. I would imagine many of you also have thought through this many times.

There is no way today to answer the question these thoughts bring forth. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He will be faithful to keep His words. The question yet to be answered is, will you and I be faithful? Will we be able to weather the storms of tribulation to the end and demonstrate His holiness to the people around us? Will we allow anger or some other emotion to trip us? Will we never deal with our pet sins and allow them to stop us on the wrong shore?

Moses will make it to the Promised Land in the end. The gospels tell us that on the Mount of Transfiguration he was allowed a rather short, but very meaningful visit. This should be a comfort to us today that no matter if we are unfaithful at times, in the end He is always faithful. Yet it is my sincere prayer that each of us would walk in a manner which brings us into our full inheritance and does not leave us even one step short of His full plan for our lives.

Be Strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!