From His Heart

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Maybe right now you're experiencing Black Friday and you say, "I don't see how anything is ever going to get better for me." You hang on. You keep looking to the Lord. You just know that He can't fail. "I will not fail you nor forsake you." You get ready because although it's Friday, Sunday's coming for you. And God can turn your Calvary into an Easter if you'll just trust Him.

Larry Nobles: Every single one of us experiences changes in life. That's just part of life. The longer you live, the more changes you're going to face. But God's Word shows us what we're supposed to do when those changes come into our life and we don't particularly like our new normal.

This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve. Thank you for joining us today for part two of the lesson, "Now Therefore Arise." It's the first message in the series, "Life Goes On: How to Face a New Normal." It does go on, even after devastating changes occur.

If you miss any of these lessons from this impactful series, go online to fromhisheart.org and click the listen link to listen to messages you may have missed. You can download a free MP3 of this broadcast and also the message outlines and notes from Pastor Jeff. Right now, open your Bible to Joshua chapter one. Here's Pastor Jeff Schreve to begin part two of our lesson, "Now Therefore Arise."

Dr. Jeff Schreve: If you know the Old Testament story, you know that God's people were slaves in Egypt for 400 years. God raised up a deliverer named Moses. Moses was the pastor of this congregation for 40 years, wandering around in the wilderness. When he was 120 years old, God said, "Now it's time to come home, Moses." Moses died. God buried Moses.

The leadership is passed from Moses to Joshua. The Scripture says this: "Now it came about after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying, Moses, my servant, is dead. Now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel."

What do you do when life changes? Joshua is experiencing a huge change because his master, Moses, has died. God gives us three steps to take when unwanted, unwarranted, unplanned, unwelcome change comes into your life that's drastic, dramatic, and traumatic. Number one: you mourn. You mourn when change comes in like that. You mourn the death of a loved one. You mourn the loss of a job. You mourn a divorce that you didn't want. You mourn that. That's normal and that's natural.

It says in Deuteronomy 34:8, "So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days." They mourned for Moses. That was a huge loss to lose Moses. So they wept and they mourned and they cried. It is normal, it is natural, and it is necessary to grieve when you experience loss.

You're going to foul yourself up if you try and short-circuit the grieving process. If you try and say, "I'm just going to stuff this down. This hurt comes into my life, I'm just going to stuff it down and act like it's not there and act like it doesn't hurt," it's not going to solve the problem. You know it's there and you know it hurts. Stuffing it is not the answer. You have to let it out. You can't really move on until you mourn.

When your life changes drastically, dramatically, and traumatically, the first step is you mourn. That's normal, natural, and good. The second step: you stop mourning. You stop mourning. It says the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end. There's a time for mourning, as it says in Ecclesiastes chapter three. There's a time to mourn, there's a time to grieve, and then there's a time to stop mourning and start moving and get going with the Lord.

The key thing is you can't allow yourself to get stuck in perpetual mourning. That's true for you, that's true for me, that's true for Joshua, and that's true for Samuel. None of us can allow ourselves to get stuck in perpetual mourning because something terrible and horrible and tragic happened to us. You cannot constantly hold on to the past. You cannot be bitter because things have changed and you didn't want them to change. They have changed. You can't live in the land of fantasy, the land of "what if." What if this didn't happen? What if that didn't happen? It did happen. You have to move on.

I read a story years ago about a couple who lost a teenage son. It was a freak accident. Their hearts were shattered, as you can imagine. The people in their church came and ministered to them, loved on them, comforted them, made them meals, and were there to walk them through it. They were mourning day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. They got stuck in mourning.

15 years later, it was as if their son had died just a week ago. They never got past the point of "Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise and cross over to this Jordan." You can't allow yourself to get stuck. You can't choose the wisdom of Job's wife to curse God and die. You can't allow yourself to get bitter at God because you don't understand why He took your loved one. You have to say, "All right, Lord. Now therefore, I'm going to arise."

You mourn, and then you stop mourning after the days for your mourning have completed. That is different for every single person. It says it was 30 days here, and maybe you've lost a loved one recently and you say, "I'm not ready. 30 days have passed, but I'm still hurting so deeply." That's okay. Just don't allow yourself to get stuck. You mourn, but then you stop mourning.

Thirdly, you arise and step into a new normal with God. Verse two again says: "Moses, my servant, is dead. Now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people to the land which I am giving them to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses from the wilderness and this Lebanon even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory."

He is talking about the Promised Land. They were at the southeast part of the Promised Land in a place called Moab, the plains of Moab. They were getting ready because God wanted them to cross over the Jordan River. You remember how God stopped up the waters of the Jordan so they could walk through on dry ground? It was just like when they left Egypt and God parted the Red Sea. That's what they were going to do to go into the Promised Land to fight Jericho and start winning battles. They had to arise and go because the Promised Land was ahead of them.

That is good news for all those who are experiencing changes in life that you didn't want, you didn't ask for, and you didn't pray for, but they are here. Now what are you going to do? Face the facts. Realize life has changed and life goes on. Rise up with God and walk into your future, because the future is bright. Here is the good news for everyone: God is not done with you. There are blessings ahead. Great blessings ahead.

When you go through tremendous loss, you might not see any blessings. The joy has gone out of life. You wonder if you will ever smile again or be lighthearted again. You feel so heavy. But God is not done. God has not died. God has not changed. Life changes, but the Lord does not change. He says, "I am the Lord, I change not." I can say with confidence and with faith that I am still here, God still has a plan for me, and there are blessings yet ahead for me.

God's not done. Although it seems dark, just like it did for Joshua, the Lord was not done with Joshua. He was not done with His people. He still kept His promises. Moses is dead, but God is not dead. Just as we learn from the burning bush in Exodus chapter three, that is what got Moses' attention. He said, "I must turn aside to see this great sight, this bush that burns but is not consumed." He wanted to look at this bush. He thought it was some kind of special bush that could handle fire. It wasn't the bush; it was the God in the bush.

The Lord was in effect saying to Moses, "You think that's a big deal? Don't get all excited about the bush. What I do with this bush I can do with that bush, or the bush over there, or that bush a mile away." It's not the bush; it's the God in the bush. What made Moses so great? It wasn't Moses; it was God in Moses that made him so great. God was going to do great things through Joshua.

God's not done with you. There are blessings ahead. There's a Promised Land yet ahead. But there are some things that God wants. Number one: God wants you to be strong and courageous. In Joshua, beginning in verse five, three times He tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous. For you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left so that you may have success wherever you go." Verse nine: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Three times in just a few verses, God tells him the same thing: be strong and courageous. That was a needed word for a guy who was fixing to step into the shoes of Moses, because Moses has big shoes. What does God say to a single mom, to a single dad, or to somebody who has faced tremendous loss? Be strong and courageous. Don't quit. Don't throw in the towel. Don't allow yourself to get overwhelmed. Keep your eyes fixed on Him and be strong, be bold, be brave, and courageous.

One of the things that I learned years ago is that you can never be too small for God to use. You can only be too big. You can only be too big for God to use. You can't be too small because when you feel like you can't do it, then you trust God and God gets all the glory. When you feel like, "I got this, Lord," then God says, "Oh, you got that? Okay, well, you're on your own, pal. Go see how well you do by yourself."

Do you remember strong man Samson? He says in Judges, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free," and he did not know that the Lord had left him. Why was he so strong? Was it because he was eating his Wheaties? No, it's because God gave him strength. When God left him and took His hand off him, Samson was as weak as a kitten. God says be strong and courageous. Look to Him, and He will take care of you.

Secondly, God wants you to be faithful and obedient to His Word. He says in verse seven: "Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success."

Be faithful when it comes to the Word of God. Faithful to read it, meditate on it, and memorize it. When it says the book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, it needs to be in your mouth. For the Word of God to be in your mouth, it has to get in your heart. When we talk about meditating on Scripture, that's like a cow chewing his cud. A cow has several stomachs. They chew the grass, deposit it in a stomach, and then they throw it back up into their mouth and they chew on it some more. It's a good picture of meditation. You ingest the Word and then you chew on it a while. You think about it. You keep chewing on it until it gets in your heart and then it's there in your mouth.

You're faithful with the Word. You ingest it, meditate on it, and memorize it. Then you're faithful to obey it and do what God says. Then He says you will have success wherever you go. You will make your way prosperous and have success. Some people want success and prosperity, but they don't want to do what God says. It doesn't work that way.

There are two ways to go in life. There's your way and there's God's way. Your way leads every single time to the pigsty. You go your way in relationships, finances, or business, and that is where it goes. You go God's way, and it goes to a place of love, joy, peace, and the blessings of God. You have a choice.

God says be faithful and obedient, and then be fully assured of His presence. Verse five says, "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you." Verse nine says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

How can I be strong and courageous? I can only be strong and courageous when I know that the Lord is with me. He's not going to leave me and He's not going to forsake me. One of the greatest promises in Scripture for the believer is Jesus saying, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." When He says, "I will never leave you nor will I ever forsake you," He means it. When He comes into your life, He comes in forever. He is never, never, ever going to leave you.

When everything gets dark and black and bleak in your life and everybody walks out, the Lord stays. He'll not desert you. He'll be there for you. He says, "Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you." You might think, "Wow, You were with Moses to do all these great and mighty things." It's not Moses that was the great one; it was God. He made Moses great. Moses trusted and yielded to Him, and His power was able to be seen through him. Joshua, you can walk with Him like Moses did. Just as He was with Moses, He will be with you.

Jeremiah had a tough time in his ministry. People hated Jeremiah and wanted to kill him. He said, "Everywhere I go, I hear people saying all the time, Let's get him. Let's jump him. Let's trick him. Let's trap him so we can shut him up." Jeremiah was scared to death. Then he says in Jeremiah 20:11, "But the Lord is with me like a dread champion." Nobody messes with the dread champion.

When the Lord is with you like a dread champion, no one can defeat you because no one can defeat Him. You may think you are like David against a Goliath, just a shepherd boy with nothing while the enemy has all the armor. You have five smooth stones and a sling, but you have the power of God behind you if you walk with God. You can stand up to anything and to anyone. God will enable you to do it, even in the midst of tremendous loss, hurt, and pain. The Lord is with you. Trust Him and His Word, and He will see you through.

2,000 years ago, Jesus walked the earth. He had His disciples and His followers. Many of them said He was the Messiah. The disciples knew He was the Christ, the Son of the living God. But then they saw Him beaten and nailed to a tree on a Friday in April. They saw Jesus crucified. Talk about a Black Friday. They had put all their faith and trust in this one, and now He was gone. Their hearts were shattered.

Jesus died, was buried, and put in a tomb. He was in a dark cave. God does His best work in the darkest of places. He does His best work in a cave. On the third day, Jesus came out of that grave in power and great glory. He changed everything in their lives, in our lives, and for all eternity. Maybe right now you're experiencing Black Friday and you say, "I don't see how anything is ever going to get better for me." You hang on. You keep looking to the Lord. You just know that He is the dread champion and that He can't fail. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Although it's Friday, Sunday's coming for you. God can turn your Calvary into an Easter if you'll just trust Him.

Larry Nobles: The heart of our Heavenly Father is so tender toward His children. His face is toward you right now, no matter what you might be going through. You are precious to Him, and He loves you so much that He's willing to walk through your dark times with you. May God comfort you in a way you never knew possible and use today's message to strengthen you.

We all know it: life can change in an instant. Unwelcome situations can descend on us, leaving us devastated. There was a time when thousands of Israelites were taken captive to Babylon, hundreds of miles away from their homes. They were traumatized and in deep despair. Their captors demanded they sing songs of Zion, but they agonized over it, saying, "How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" The Israelites had buckled under the weight of their grief. In despair and tears, they hung up their harps, thinking they'd never sing again.

Maybe you've faced a situation where the bottom has dropped out of your life and it felt like you'd never sing again. What do you do when trouble steals your song? When you want to say, "I quit, I'm done"? No. First, you get honest with God and you share your feelings, and then you trust Him. We want to help you do that by getting into your hands and your hearts two resources from Pastor Jeff.

The first is the series that we're in, "Life Goes On: How to Face a New Normal," and the companion book, "Life Interrupted." They will help you trust God with your sorrow and get through the major interruptions that come in life. To get yours, call 866-40-BIBLE or go to fromhisheart.org to make a gift of any amount and request these timely resources.

God bless you for helping the world hear the truth from From His Heart. We also hope that when you visit our website, you'll sign up for Pastor Jeff's weekly Real Hope email encouragement letter. You'll get that every Friday morning in your inbox. You can leave a prayer request there and have people from around the world join you in prayer. You can also visit the From His Heart social media pages when you go to fromhisheart.org.

That's all the time we have for today. Thank you for joining us. I'm Larry Nobles, trusting that you'll be right back here tomorrow as Pastor Jeff begins the second lesson from the series, when he'll explain how to make hard times holy times. That's on Wednesday, when Pastor Jeff Schreve speaks the truth in love to a lost and hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more at fromhisheart.org.