A longing in stone

A longing in stone

Bible:Deuteronomy 34:1-5

I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it (V.4).

Reading

I read one poem that talked about piers as “a longing in stone”. The poem describes that feeling of a boat sailing away, but the people on the pier being left behind. They can only watch it disappear—and ache for what’s now out of reach. We could say that Mount Nebo was Moses’ “longing in stone”. From Nebohe saw the Promised Land after forty years in the desert—a land he would never reach. God’s words to Moses—“I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it” (DEUTERONOMY 34:4)—might seem harsh. But if that’s all we see, we miss everything that’s going on in the story. God was reassuring Moses: “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants’” (V.4). God had kept His promise! And very soon, Moses would leave Nebo for a land far better than Canaan (V.5; SEE HEBREWS 11:16). Life often finds us standing on the pier. Dreams fade, friends move away, school changes, exams go badly, life happens—and things we might have been Hoping for drift out of reach. When we ache for these things, let’s bring them to God. He is our comfort (2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-4) and our life (JOHN 10:10) who promises us an amazing future (REVELATION 21:1-5). He is never out of reach.

GOD’S COMFORT, LOVE AND GOODNESS ARE
ALWAYS WITHIN REACH FOR US TO HOLD ON TO.

YouTh Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries