This week I was able to hear the testimony of a young man who had been raised in over 40 foster homes during his life. He failed at college three times. In 2019 he lived on the streets. Soon a construction job of installing metal roofs presented itself. He took it. But he wanted more. He wanted YHVH to give him a Kingdom direction. He wanted a job with deeper meaning. One morning while viewing the city from a rooftop, an idea came to him.
For over three years, this young man had carried a contractor’s manual around with him. Due to a lack of money and fear of failure, he did not move forward to take the exam. But for some reason, while on that rooftop, he got the motivation to move forward and take the exam. $500 was in his bank account and the test cost $450. A pastor had told him that “God loves to show Himself in larger ways if we just take a step forward.” So, he took the risk.
He was shocked when he passed the exam at 97%. And he was even more shocked when people started asking him to paint their homes. In just a short while he started to make a living. It was during this time that he remembered his request about kingdom work and dedicated his entire business to sharing the gospel of the Messiah with any client who would listen.
This a great story. However, what happens when things don’t go according to your plans? Will Yahweh still allow you to see? Will you be able to see beyond yourself?
This week’s Torah selection begins with:
“I pleaded with the Lord at the time, . . . Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan.”
These are the words of Moses, who shares them with the new generation—the ones who are about to cross over from the wilderness into the Promised Land.
But Yahweh in His wisdom and grace refuses to budge. Instead, He tells Moses to go to the top of the mountain and “lift up his eyes” to see the land of promise. He then instructs Moses to “encourage” the new leader Joshua.
A similar story is found with John the Baptist in Luke chapter 3. Like Moses, John is to prepare the way for the Messiah. He is the voice crying out in the wilderness for Israel to mend their ways, to repent, and to be baptized in living water. But he too has his life cut short for Yeshua to lead.
As you read the Torah portions this week, I want to challenge you to look for the pictures of purposeful work given and ask yourself how your life might prepare the way for others. Consider the following:
- Both Moses and John the Baptist cried out in the wilderness for Israel.
- They each had their ministry cut short while they were yet with strength.
- Both of these men prepared the way for another leader—Joshua and Yeshua.
- Joshua would lead Israel into a physical promised land, while Yeshua leads Israel into the land of the Kingdom.
- Moses was still able to “see” the promise—the goal for which he had worked for.
- John the Baptist was able to “see” the Messiah for whom he had been speaking.
The prophet Isaiah starts in chapter 40 by stating, “Comfort, O comfort My people, says Your God.” The prophecy goes on to say:
“A voice is calling, Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make smooth in the desert a highway for our God, let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low, and let the rough ground become a plain.”
From this prophecy, one might ask, “Who comforts, who makes the desert a highway, and who lays down the mountains?”
According to Isaiah, the greatness of God is incomparable:
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the vault of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers . . it is He who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.” Isaiah 40:21-23
Yeshua instructed his disciples to share the gospel into all the nations and to baptize others into The Kingdom of Elohim. They were to be a witness of some sort, who like Moses and John would prepare the way for His return. Most of these disciples had to learn faith and trust. They had to learn how to raise up others around them. And above all else, they had learned that the gospel was greater than what they had originally thought.
Typically, we look or search for immediate desires rather than seek the real Desire of our Heart. Ask the Father, “What would you have me do? I am willing.”
Be blessed this Sabbath.
Rollyn