YOU HAVE NOT PASSED THIS WAY BEFORE

MIKE CUNNINGHAM

NEW YEARS DAY 2006

As we enter into this New Year, I’m reminded of something that was said during an event that occurred thousands of years ago. After Moses had died, God commissioned his assistant Joshua to take Moses’ place and lead the Jews into the Promised Land. The Jews had been camped on the banks of the Jordan River for three days. On the fourth day the officers of the army went throughout the camp issuing commands to the people.

The day had finally arrived for the Jews to cross the Jordan and take possession of the land. But first they would have to drive out the barbaric Canaanites and six other equally savage tribes who inhabited the land. In other words, they were about to enter into the horrors of war.

Among the many things those officers told the people concerning the future is something we need to remember as we enter into this New Year. You have not passed this way before (Joshua 3:4). They were destined to have unique experiences and so are we. Just like you and me, they were warned that they must follow God’s commands or else expect to experience some very painful consequences.

Mothers feared for the safety of their sons. They had no way of knowing whether or not the boy whose child-birth caused them to suffer intense pain; the infant son they fondly remembered cuddling and nursing and softly rocking and humming to sleep; those mom’s couldn’t possibly know if their boy would still be alive when the battle ended. Fathers who had such wonderful plans and high hopes for their sons, were fearful that their dreams were about to be shattered.

Wives couldn’t help but wonder if the man who was the father of their children and whom they loved so very much would return to them safely or if they would soon be joining the ranks of widowhood. Children often cried themselves to sleep. They dreaded the possibility their dad might be leaving them for good. I would imagine some of them worried themselves so much that they threw up whenever they thought about the possibility. Every one of those Jews couldn’t help but wonder what the future had in store for them.

Can you imagine how they must have felt? Of course you can. On this first day of the New Year, do you wonder what the future has in store for you? Have you taken the time to pause and think about such things? I have. However, before I started thinking about what might lie ahead, I took a quick recap of the year that just ended. It was one in which I enjoyed many happy times with my family and friends. I had many accomplishments. But, there were also some very painful emotional suffering that I experienced last year. Dreadful things which, if it was possible for me to have prevented from happening I would have.

All things considered, I have to admit that I’m looking forward to whatever portion of this New Year the Lord has ordained for me regardless of what I may have to experience. I’ve started the year with the conviction that He will continue to give me opportunities to serve Him and that my best work is yet to come. I’m excited about that reality. A Christian stock market analyst might say that I’m bullish about the future. In other words, I’m very optimistic and, as I said a moment ago, I’m looking forward to whatever portion of this New Year God has ordained for me to serve Him.

How about you folks? Do you share my optimism and hopefulness about the future? I know some Christians who don’t. I know Christians younger than I am who are so tired of living in this sin infested world that their most fervent desire is that the Lord would rapture them out of it.

Others whose quality of life leaves a great deal to be desired would much rather go home to be with the Lord instead of continuing living in their present circumstances. After all, didn’t the great Apostle Paul once admit that to die and be with Jesus is something which is so much better that remaining here? Of course he did and truer words have never been spoken.

All I can say about such desires is that since I am not walking in these hurting Christians shoes I am not about to judge this hope they cling to. There are also some Christians who seem to be plagued with a chronic negative spirit. These discouraged souls embark upon this New Year convinced that their circumstances will get worse. They just don’t have any hope that it will be a better one than the last.

Can you imagine what it must be like to enter into the New Year without having hope for the future? I can because I lived like that for a number of years. It’s awful! Many years ago God allowed me to fall into temptation and get myself trapped in what seemed as though was a black bottomless pit that I couldn’t get myself out of. I had no real joy or lasting peace or happiness. I can’t refer to such a state as even being alive. I can only describe it as being a truly miserable existence.

Even though we have not passed this way before, Christians have every reason not to become anxious or fearful of what the future has in store for them. Knowing that the future is in the Hands of our all loving, all wise, and all powerful Heavenly Father ought to generate intense feelings of hope and joy. This optimistic attitude is representative of someone who is simply living what I would describe as Living a “normal Christian life.”

When I contrast such a vibrant Christian with the pitiable state of mind of a man I know, a man who has been in my thoughts and prayers during the last several weeks of last year, all I can say is: “there but for the grace of God go I.”

Allow me to explain. I had a heartbreaking experience towards the end of last year. It involved a conversation I had with a man I care about deeply. I have spent more one on one time sharing the Gospel and other biblical truths with this man over the past five or six years than anyone else I can think of. Despite my repeated efforts, I was saddened to conclude that this man still does not know God.

The conversation took place on the Tuesday before Christmas. As I was leaving, I shook his hand and wished him well. I assured him I would continue praying for him, but that I was riding out of his life [spiritually]. I told him I was convinced that there was nothing more I could do or say that would change his beliefs. That was something only God could do.

Please don’t misunderstand me. This man does believe in God. He firmly believes God is the all powerful, all knowing Creator and Sovereign Ruler of the universe, and that the eternal destiny of each of God’s creatures is wholly dependent upon God. He knows a lot about God but, judging his professed beliefs over the past several years and despite my repeated efforts to lead him to Christ; he still doesn’t know God.

The god this man does know is an evil diabolical fiend. For his own good pleasure, this mans god has created a race of human puppets. This supreme evil being pulls the strings of every human being so that they do exactly what he wants them to do, or else to prevent them from doing whatever it may be that he doesn’t want them to do. The bottom line is that no human being is responsible for his or her behavior. You and I are just puppets controlled by this evil being. To make things worse this god has his favorite people puppets that he goes easy on.

This mans god pulled the strings of certain people so that they were compelled to hijack a couple of airplanes and crash them into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. It was his god alone who was responsible for the Holocaust during the Second World War. Through his people puppets this mans God snuffed out the lives of millions of men, women and children. And he isn’t finished yet. He’s still on a roll.

Why did the god this man believes in do such horrible things to these poor victims and spare others? The man answered by saying what I mentioned a moment ago: “god has his favorites.” In other words, god delights in destroying some of his human puppets and then watching the suffering and misery of their loved ones that are left behind. As far as his favorite puppets are concerned, he continues to go easy on them.

Needless to say, such a demonically perverted understanding of God must result in human puppets being victims of the fiendish god. Therefore, no human puppet is responsible for his or her behavior. Since there is no guilt to atone for, Christ, who also had to be nothing more than another human puppet was, in a sense, compelled to murder Himself.

What a miserable state of mind for someone to be in. I know because many years ago I was there. I didn’t view people as being puppets. However, in my view any god that allows all the evil and suffering in our world to exist must be a fiend. I remember one time screaming that if I ever ran into him I would die trying to destroy him. Obviously, I still have hope for the man I have been speaking about.

So here we are on January 1^st wondering what this New Year has in store for us. Are you looking forward to it with all sorts of optimism and hope? Some non-Christians seem to have conditioned themselves to just roll with whatever punches may come his or her way. That’s their reality of life and they are determined not to let it get them down.

Are you looking forward to this coming year with an optimistic heart, one that is full of hope? Or would you rather die and go to heaven or perhaps to be raptured off this sin infested planet? Do you have a fearful uneasiness such as those Jews may have had as they were about to cross the Jordan and go to war? They had no way of knowing the incredibly painful losses they might sustain. They did not know what the future had in store for them personally any more that you or I do.

²⁹ “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29 (ESV)

Our Father who is infinite in wisdom and perfect in love limits what He has revealed about the future to His children. And so we start this New Year not knowing how it’s going to unfold for each of us and our loved ones. It will profit us to recall and ponder what Joshua’s officers said to the people. You have not passed this way before.

Everything, both the good and the bad that occurs this year will be a new experience which our heavenly Father has ordained for us. And God will somehow work each and every one of these experiences out for our ultimate good and His own glory. However, it’s extremity important that we always follow His instructions carefully and not loose our way.

Please don’t jump to the erroneous conclusion that whatever painful things you and I are destined to experience in this New Year will always be the result of the poor choices God will allow us to freely make. Sometimes they will be but not always. I want to be crystal clear about this. I’m not implying that every difficulty we are destined to encounter will be always the consequence of Gods displeasure with us. Nothing could be further from the truth.

An unnamed child who was born blind was destined to become a poverty stricken beggar, subjected to a lifetime of ridicule and scorn and living from day to day totally dependant upon the mercy of others to keep him from starving to death (John (9:1-3). Two sisters were destined to experience the seemingly indifference of Jesus as they helplessly watched their brother breath his last breath (John 11).

There are unpleasant things you and I have been destined to experience which have not been the result of our sins. Some of these painful experiences are in our past. They are behind us.  Others may be in our future. We can’t know. The secret things belong to the Lord our God.

These are the times when we are tempted to believe that we have been abandoned by Him. We become bewildered by our Heavenly Father’s seemingly indifference to our concerns. We know that we have sincerely tried to follow Jesus and that we have truly struggled to live our life in a way that is pleasing to Him. At times such as these, reread the account of the man born blind and the two grieving sisters. Meditate upon those portions of Scripture. Keep still and be patient. Listen closely.

Don’t be surprised when hear your heavenly Father softly whisper, “My dear precious child, thank you for suffering in order that My works might be displayed in your life. Thank you for enduring such anguish for My glory. I want you to know that My only begotten Son will be glorified through your painful ordeal. And remember that your entire lifetime is just a split second of eternity.

This New Year as we continue our pilgrimage through this alien world headed towards our real home in the Celestial City, new scenes in the panorama of our life will enfold. Along the way we will experience new challenges and temptations to overcome. We will have all sorts of opportunities to honor God through the manner in which we deal with whatever disappointment, frustration, losses or sorrow or disagreeable travelers we meet along the way.

There will be new mercies in the form of friendships being developed with folks we didn’t even know existed at the beginning of the year. We will have new opportunities to praise God for His faithfulness and gentleness in never laying upon us a burden which is more that we can handle. Every one of us will have reason to rejoice in the way He will provide everything we need throughout this New Year.

Nevertheless, some times when we look ahead the future can seem to be scary. Waiting for the results of a biopsy on one of our children or grandchildren can be nerve wracking. Just thinking about the fall out bound to result from your best friend’s betrayal of a confidence can drain you emotionally. Starting out last year, none of the loved ones and friends could have imagined the horrible shock they were destined to experience when the identity of the BTK serial killer was revealed.

Does this mean that we should be apprehensive about what this New Year may bring? Should our hearts desire be to die and go to heaven or for the Lord to return and rapture us before He unleashes His righteous judgment upon this sinful world? Are we entering this New Year completely in the dark and without a clue as to what will transpire? Is there anything we can look forward to with absolute certainty that will enable us to be filled with hope? Listen to just a smattering of the comforting things we can count on as we begin this New Year.

Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV)
⁸ I am the Lord your God who goes before you. I will be with you; I will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)
¹⁰ fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
¹¹ I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

May it please the Lord to add His blessing to these the words of my mouth and thoughts of my heart.

Lord willing,….next week.