Week Of Prayer – Week 14
August 29 – The Focus on Our Final Destination
We continue in the series of devotionals from A.W. Tozer’s book, A Cloud by Day, A Fire by Night. This week is the “The Focus on Our Final Destination.”
Leading God’s people out of Egypt and into the promised land demanded a uniquely called person. Moses was God’s solution to Israel’s problem. Whenever there is a problem or difficult situation, God always brings in a person with His anointing to solve it. Look at all of the prophets throughout the Old Testament, and you will see how God works. I must say, though, that it’s disappointing how many times the prophets were rejected by the people they were trying to help.
This goes on today as well. We know the story of Israel wandering in the wilderness for forty years before getting into the land God promised them. Israel rejected the leadership of Moses and turned their back on the promised land. This ancient journey, this experience of wandering, is an illustration of the Christian walk today from earth to heaven. Paul says, “Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).
August 30 – The Focus on Our Final Destination
God is going to lead us to His promised land, a land we can’t even imagine at this point. The journey begins with our conversion and progresses through obstacles toward a victorious, fruitful life in the Lord Jesus Christ. But again, we are not alone in our journey, for God has appointed an Angel before us to guide us in the way He has prepared.
I think we are, therefore, in accord with people like the apostle Paul. Look at his testimony and how God started with him on the road to Damascus. From there, it was a journey with all kinds of obstacles on either side of the pathway. But Paul endured it all because he was following the voice of God. His path led him to being martyred, but that, you can be sure, was not the end of the apostle Paul.
August 31 – The Focus on Our Final Destination
Consider the apostle John in the book of Revelation and all he experienced. His vision of heaven motivated him and his ministry even though it cost him greatly. Read about the church fathers and how they were chosen by God and how God directed them and led many of them also to martyrdom. They were the reformers, the mystics, and so forth. Not only did God guide them, but He set them as examples for us to follow. I want to look more closely at the divine declaration that we are going to the place God has prepared. Everything God is doing directs us to that predetermined destination. He is systematically preparing us in this life for that place, and our obedience to God now will be reflected in our position in heaven.
September 1 – The Focus on Our Final Destination
There are two sides to this: provisional destinations and our final destination. In Deuteronomy 1:30 we read, “The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes.” God has a final destination for Israel, but in between are steps—layers of conflict and battles—but He promises Israel He will go before them and fight their battles for them. Every step of the way has been set by God, and one step leads to the next. Rarely do we see many steps ahead of us. We need to walk entirely by faith. But like God did for Israel, He prepares us for one step at a time. The pathway is of His choosing and may not match the way we want. But to overstep God’s plan is disaster. As a Christian, I go forward under the power of the Holy Spirit, who is leading and preparing me for the path chosen for me.
September 2 – The Focus on Our Final Destination
I believe this also applies to the local church. If we are open to the Holy Spirit, He will lead us on the pathway—a destiny and a ministry He has in mind for us. At this point we may not fully know what that ministry is. We may not know where we are going, but as long as we are following the Lord, we have nothing to fear. As we let go of our past, we can get a firm grip on the future God has for us. Then we come to the Lord’s final destination for us. For Israel, this was the point of full possession of Canaan. God used Moses to lead them out of Egypt and into the wilderness, and Joshua finally led them across the Jordan River and into the promised land. Our final destination is “my Father’s house,” Jesus says in John 14:2. This world is not our home or our final destination. Our path has been engineered by God, and He leads by no other way.
September 3 – The Focus on Our Final Destination
Many get sidetracked by the world, and unfortunately, they do not reach the place God has for them. The Christian’s destination is fruitfulness and power along the way and, finally, heaven. As we go along God’s path, we will find all the provisions we need to be who God wants us to be so that we can arrive at the place God has prepared for us. By faith, each day we access God’s provision for us. We never know what we will need, but God does and has made full provision. To reach that place requires a power not equal but superior to the opposition. We need to always keep that in mind. It is so easy to get diverted from the path the Angel has set before us. But God is providing a cloud by day and a fire by night in order to get us to our destination.
“When the Roll is Called Up Yonder”
“When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more, And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair; When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.” James M. Black (1856–1938)
September 4 – The Unmistakable Voice of God
“Heavenly Father, with great earnestness of heart, I beseech Thee to enable me to put my focus where Thou wants it to be. Not on this life. Not on the things around me. But, O God, may my focus be completely upon Thee and what Thou hast for me. I know this life has a limit to it. I also know the destination Thou hast for me is that eternity without any kind of limitation where I will enjoy a relationship with Thee that I can’t enjoy right now. I look forward to that final destination. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, Amen.”