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Joshua 1:1, 2, “Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.”

Moses, the great leader of Israel had died and a new leader, Joshua, had been appointed by the Lord to lead the nation of Israel into Canaan. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel was about to take possession of the land which God promised Abraham centuries earlier. Moses was a great man. Moses fulfilled his destiny and purpose. Moses led Israel out of Egyptian captivity, through the wilderness, and to the edge of the Promised Land. Now it was time for a new generation to be led by a new leader into the next level of where the Lord desired to take His covenant people. It was time to move forward.

But before they could move forward, they had to accept the fact that Moses was dead and had to be buried. In fact, the Lord was direct and clear: “Moses my servant is dead.” God knew they didn’t have the resolve to bury him. In fact, they so revered him, if God had not have buried him, these people would have probably set up a shrine for him, and encamped around the shrine and never would have moved into the Promised Land. There are a lot of Moses’ that need to be buried. 

When the Church goes through a period of transition initiated by the Lord, it is critical for the Lord’s people not to hold onto the past in such a way that they become paralyzed in moving into the next phase of what God is bringing them into. If you worship a leader, or a previous move of God, then when that leader, or experience is past, you will have a tendency to be frozen in time, and not be able to progress to the next level the Lord wishes to take you into. There is a danger in being “left behind.” Moves of God transcend earthly leaders. However, if you worship the Lord, you will understand that earthly leadership is for a specific time, place, and purpose. God’s leadership is an eternal, progressive path.

Timing is critical. Notice again Joshua 1:2, “Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan.” When? Now! There is a crucial opportunity God gives us all for advancing into our destiny. God has brought us this far, to this place, at this time, by no accident, but by providential design. If Joshua would have let this opportunity pass, that generation would not have had the courage to possess Canaan. The command of the Lord to Joshua was threefold: “Now, arise, go.” They would never see an opportunity like this again.

As it is in the natural realm so it is in the spiritual realm. In the Gospels, Jesus used earthly stories to illustrate spiritual principles. During the COVID pandemic of the last 2 years, you may feel as if your life has been put on hold. As well, you may also feel as if your spiritual development has been put on hold because of past attachments that no longer foster life. The Lord would remind us today, to allow Him to bury the dead elements of our past to which we have become attached, so that we can move forward into a new era of His destiny and purpose for our lives.