3 Days Ahead

June 24, 2020

For fifty years, Linda and I have been reading from a devotional called “Daily Light.” We’ve read it together, read it when we’re apart to help us stay connected, and admittedly, we’ve occasionally drifted from it to other reading plans. I like it because it is Scripture; just Scripture. Today’s reading caught my attention for its symbolism and practicality. It began with these words from Numbers 10:33–“The ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them.” The symbolism is hard to miss; Jesus was three days and nights in the tomb, going ahead of us as the firstborn from the dead, to give us a place of rest.

I let myself get troubled by life’s journey when I get ahead of the ‘ark of the covenant,’ ie, the Presence of the Lord. He has gone before me to provide a resting place, but my heart finds no rest till it follows him. How often do we listen to the news, allowing it to disrupt our rest in Christ. We think by arguing with people on social media that somehow we’ll have the final word that convinces them of our position, only to have things escalate into an all-out verbal conflagration, when we could have turned to God’s Word to find rest and nourishment in the victory won at the Cross and confirmed in the resurrection.

Jesus Christ went before us. That is enough, if we will but follow him. The wilderness can be, as its name implies, a wild place filled with all sorts of dangers, but if we follow our Covenant God, even the wilderness holds no fear for us.

Today’s reading included the words of the 23rd Psalm, where “he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters,” concluding with the words of Peter who exhorts us to “cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you” (1Peter 5:7). Jesus said that in this world we will have tribulation. We Americans have had very little of this promise of Jesus; we prefer the soothing words of the Prosperity Gospel preachers who assure us of success if we jump through the right hoops. But Jesus’ word about tribulation bears its own reward: “Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). His victory has already been won; he has gone those three days before us, and nothing we experience takes him by surprise. We can rest peacefully tonight, and give thanks.