DHQ Devotions

Momentum

Everyone is probably familiar with the concept of momentum.

It is visible in nearly every area of life.

I want to share a personal example of how momentum has led to something exciting in our house.

Our son, James, picked up a new event in track this year - the pole vault.

Every day we get a report on his pole vault progress.

At his most recent meet, he cleared 8’.

Here he is

Not quite clearing 8’6”.

But last night…he had practice and when I got there to pick him up, he was a dollar richer because he cleared 8’ and while I was there he cleared 8’6.” And his next barrier - 9’, which he can clear with a little technical help.

Dad, tomorrow, at my meet, I’m gonna clear 9’, maybe 9’6”. I just have to focus.

By all means, don’t let me get in your way.

What we focus on can influence the direction of our lives. Focus can determine the difference between success and failure.

Ministry Momentum: How to Get It, Keep It, and Use It in Your Church (Chapter Six: Focusing on Priorities (Joshua 3))

Focus is important beyond the world of sports and school. Organizations that lose sight of their mission statements soon wallow in mediocrity. Churches that fail to center on Christ trade a ministry of eternal consequence for activity with temporary impact.

Focusing on God can create great expectations that can lead to great endeavors. As Joshua prepared to move the people into the Promised Land, there was no mystery as to what the focal point was. It was the ark of the covenant.

We’re looking this morning at Joshua 3:1-5

Joshua 3:1–5 HCSB

Joshua started early the next morning and left the Acacia Grove with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing. After three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God carried by the Levitical priests, you must break camp and follow it. But keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.” Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, because the Lord will do wonders among you tomorrow.”

Joshua and the Israelites have made their way through 40 years in the wilderness and now they have arrived at the Jordan River. We know that at the time of the crossing, the river would have been at flood stage.

What a discouraging moment - a momentum buster - you may call it. That as they prepared to enter the Promised Land they faced a seemingly insurmountable difficulty. Their hope of this land - promised to them - stood a flooded river away.

Ministry Velocity: The Power for Leadership Momentum (The Threshold)

There are multitudes of people who know where they are in life and also know what God has promised them. But they are stuck at the edge of the river—unwilling to step in.

Ministry Velocity: The Power for Leadership Momentum The Threshold

The miracle was dependent upon their willingness to step in and cross the threshold.

Let’s be real, it happens. We lose hope. We don’t step in.

Another momentum buster - momentum is drained by succumbing to paralysis by analysis.

Or, our hoping turns into coping and instead of being people full of passion we become passive. We simply stand there trying to cope with the circumstances until something happens. In the delay, our hope fades and so does our momentum.

Instead, let’s be momentum builders - momentum is developed by moving ahead even when obstacles remain.

These people were in sight of their objective, and yet they were compelled to wait for three days as verse 3 tells us. I don’t know about you all, but when I have to wait, I get impulsive.

Notice where the focus of the people was commanded - it was on the ark of the Covenant. Not on the flooded river before them. Not on their human leaders. Not on experience or planning or strategy. On God. Why?

They were about to walk onto unfamiliar ground and the road is uncharted. Without the leadership and guidance of God, they do not know where to go. The road to achievement is never foolproof.

There are some things that cannot be known unless one moves ahead. Joshua pointed them to something that was familiar to them (the ark) as they entered a land that was unfamiliar (Canaan).

But focus from a distance, some 3,000 feet. Why? Because the ark was sacred. There isn’t time for casual or careless intimacy with God - He’s not simply “The big man upstairs.” He’s the waymaker, the sovereign and holy God of all creation. Verse 5 - consecrate yourselves - set yourselves apart - sanctify yourselves. Sanctification is an indication about who we belong to. Prepare yourselves for what God is about to do.

Jehovah is alway active, always dynamically here, in this world. The people were urged to live with a sense of wonder. They were to be eager, alert and hopefully expectant of what God was about to do. It is when we lose this sense of wonder that we meet frustration, futility, and stagnation.

Think of the great ripple effect of Joshua’s leadership. He’s a man of action, who’s momentum spread to the officers who went through the camp, to the priests who carried the ark into the waters, to the representatives, and then to all the people.

Friends, is there a Jordan River in your life right now? What is it?

Have you sensed God’s movement in your life, momentum forward, but you are afraid to follow God into the raging waters of the unfamiliar and uncharted?

If so, then now is the time to consecrate yourself. Refocus, as the writer of Hebrews says:

Hebrews 12:2 (HCSB)

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.