Deuteronomy 3:23-29: a reflection

When Moses pleads with God to let him enter the promised land, God says no; and Moses, though disappointed, accepts God's answer and turns to encourage and commission his successor, Joshua, to lead the people in. I begged the LORD, Moses recounts, please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan. But the LORD said, that is enough; speak no more to me of this matter. And instead of continuing to press, Moses is told to commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, for he would lead the people in. Moses accepted God's no, and turned to prepare the one who would carry on the work he himself would not complete. This shows the grace of accepting God's no and preparing those who come after. Accept God's no, and turn to prepare those who follow. Moses accepted God's answer and commissioned his successor. When God says no, we can still encourage those who carry on. Grace accepts God's no and prepares the next to lead.

Notice how Moses responds to God's no. He had pleaded earnestly to enter the land he had journeyed toward for forty years; it was a deep and understandable desire. But God said no, and told him not to press the matter further. Moses did not rebel or grow bitter; he accepted God's answer. And notice what he was told to do instead: to commission Joshua, to encourage and strengthen the one who would lead the people into the land Moses himself would not enter. Rather than being consumed with his own disappointment, Moses turned to prepare and encourage his successor to carry on the work he would not complete. This shows a real grace. There are times when God says no to our deep desires, when we will not see the completion of something we have longed for; and we can respond with bitterness and self-pity, or, like Moses, accept God's answer and turn to encourage and prepare those who will carry on after us. To accept God's no graciously, and to invest in and encourage those who will continue the work we ourselves will not complete, is a real grace, free of bitterness and self-pity. Accept God's no without bitterness, and encourage those who follow. When you will not complete the work, prepare those who will. Grace turns disappointment into encouraging the next to lead. Do not be consumed by your own no; invest in those who come after.

That is worth taking to heart, for it is a grace to accept God's no without bitterness and to turn to encourage and prepare those who will carry on the work we ourselves will not complete, as Moses accepted God's no and commissioned Joshua. We can respond to God's no to our deep desires with bitterness and self-pity, consumed by our own disappointment; but Moses accepted God's answer and turned to encourage and strengthen his successor. Grace accepts God's no and invests in those who follow. When God says no to your deep desire, do not grow bitter; accept his answer, and turn to encourage those who will carry on. Accept God's no without bitterness and turn to encourage and prepare those who will carry on the work you will not complete, as Moses, when he pleaded with God to let him enter the promised land and God said no and told him not to press the matter further, did not rebel or grow bitter but accepted God's answer, and was told to commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, for he would lead the people into the land Moses himself would not enter; for there are times when God says no to our deep desires, when we will not see the completion of something we have longed for, and we can respond with bitterness and self-pity, consumed by our own disappointment, or, like Moses, accept God's answer graciously and turn to invest in, encourage, and prepare those who will carry on the work after us, which is a real grace, free of bitterness and self-pity, so that when God says no and we will not complete the work ourselves, we do well to accept his answer and turn to strengthen those who will.