Letting Go of What You Didn't Finish - Your Nightly Prayer - September 2

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Your Nightly Prayer

Letting Go of What You Didn't Finish
Your Nightly Prayer
by Kyle Norman

TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE

[The Lord said to Moses]: “Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan.” - Deuteronomy 3:27

SOMETHING TO PONDER

Have you ever pondered how Moses might have felt knowing he would not cross the Jordan, and thereby witness what he had been working towards? After 40 years of toil, Moses would not get to declare that the work was done, and that the people had come home. Did the task of redemption seem incomplete as looked out over the land? Did he consider himself a failure for not being able to take Israel over the finish line?

Have you ever experienced this? Have you ever started a work, a task, or a ministry, only to have to leave it uncompleted? These moments stick out, don’t they? We may even feel that they speak directly against our faithful competency. If we were better Christians, we might lament, then surely things would have been different. Surely God would have blessed our efforts… right?

But what if there is something deeper going on? After all, God is sovereign over the world, and God’s work is always beyond our efforts and abilities. It may be that God brings about a certain ministry for a season in our lives, asking us to hand it over to someone else. After all, the end of Moses’ ministry is also the beginning of Joshua’s. Or it may be that God asks us to step away from something for our own good, or our own health. The point is, if we see the fulfillment of God’s work as somehow contingent upon our involvement, then we potentially miss what God is doing.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we can’t pray to be involved as much as we can. Lord knows Moses did. He implores God to allow him to continue in the journey, to walk Israel across the Jordan. Moses pleads: Please, O God, let me go across! Please let me see this to the end.

But God remains steadfast; Moses would not go over. And so, standing atop Pisgah, looking out toward the Promised Land, Moses must let his desire go. Moses is called to trust that the task of redemption is held in God’s hands, not his own. So too, we are called to exercise the same trust and faith. Whether our own frailties keep us from seeing the fullness of God’s work, or whether the consequences of our actions get in the way, there may be a time when God’s work in certain areas or times continues without us.

So, how do we let go of what we don’t finish? We rejoice. We rejoice that the finalization of God’s work is never dependent on our actions or accomplishments. Just as the exodus was completed through the ministry of Joshua, not Moses, we trust that God has a deeper plan than we may realize. God’s work will always be accomplished, his purposes always revealed. This truth frees us from having to hold what we are never asked to hold. Even if we don’t finish the work, we trust that the Holy Spirit will.

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Almighty God,
Thank you for calling me to work with you in this world. Thank you for inviting me to participate in your work of redemption. The tasks that you call me to are a delight to my soul, and a blessing to others.
But your work is always bigger than my individual efforts or accomplishments. When I get too focused on what I can do, or what I can understand, I risk missing your life-giving call, and the subtle the movements of your spirit. Help me to place my life and my tasks in your hands. Help me to release my sense of control, and the desire to see things occur based on my understanding and knowledge.
Give me, O God, a spirit of humility and obedience. When you call me to act, I pray you give me the ability to act in your name. But when you call me to stop, to hand something over, to step away from an action, give me the boldness to trust in your direction, and rejoice in your work.
This I pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

1. Even though he will not cross the Jordon, Moses is given the blessing of looking at the Promised Land. Where is God giving you a vision of something completed that you will not participate in? Can you trust that vision?

2. Moses was called to let go of the exodus journey so that Joshua could take up the ministry God called him to. What can you step away from in order to allow someone to step into the ministry God is calling them to?

3. In the Transfiguration, Moses stands with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, thereby realizing the fullness of Israel’s redemption. The completion of all things is found in the presence of Jesus. Take a moment and meditate on Jesus' presence in your life.

The Reverend Dr. Kyle Norman is the Rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral, located in Kamloops BC, Canada. He holds a doctorate in Spiritual formation and is a sought-after writer, speaker, and retreat leader. His writing can be found at Christianity.com, crosswalk.com, ibelieve.com, Renovare Canada, and many others. He also maintains his own blog revkylenorman.ca. He has 20 years of pastoral experience, and his ministry focuses on helping people overcome times of spiritual discouragement.