I quit my job with the law firm about 6 weeks ago, to pursue some new opportunities.  It is still a bit surreal – I wake up on Monday and no longer need to rush off to the gym, then rush home, then sprint to catch the last bus downtown that will get me to work on time, wondering when I will be home.  I now have all the time in the world.  While it was time to move on from the job, I do miss the security of a routine that gave me clear identity (even if it wasn’t me).  I am now in the in-between.  The next thing is in view, but not yet in place.

While leaving the law firm right now was my choice, I have friends who, with the economic downturn, have lost their jobs involuntarily.  That is a bit scarier.  I expect we will all “make it” in the end, but there could be some stomach churning days ahead. 

Now if I had a choice, what would I want my posture in this situation to be?  Strength and courage.  I want to the kind of person who faces such uncertain future with strength and courage, the kind of person who says “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”  Not with bravado, or blissful ignorance, or cocky American self-assurance, or detachment, but with a steady awareness of self and situation that allows for the appropriate response in the moment (whether passion or peace).  This posture would be a lot easier to maintain if I knew everything – like how the story ends and how it gets there.  But I don’t.  It would be easier if I were in control.  But I’m not.  It would be easier if I thought I was an absolute rock star in every area of life.  I know myself too well, though.

Strength and courage.  The other week a mentor pointed me back to Joshua 1:5-9.  Moses, who had led Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, through the wilderness wanderings, to the doorstep of the promised land, just died.  Joshua is now told to lead the people into the promised land.  He does not know how the story will play out.  He is not in control.  His self-identity has just changed with the death of Moses.  The refrain of the passage – the only posture acceptable in facing the uncertain future – strength and courage:

I’ll let you chew on this yourself, but a few things have started to sink in for me.  First, the only permissible posture toward the future really is strength and courage.  Not terror.  Not discouragement.  If those are the overwhelming feelings, go back to the checklist.  Second, the reasons why this posture is appropriate are because (a) God will be with Joshua, (b) the mission will be accomplished (“you will lead these people”), (c) God will forge Joshua into the type of man who can walk with this weight (of glory) on his shoulders (“be careful to obey / meditate”).  Indeed, God has done it before -- leading into the third point.

Third, I love the way God describes just how he will be with Joshua.  “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”  How was God with Moses?  See the early chapters of Exodus:  before Moses is even self-aware, God protects his life and has him adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh.  When God ultimately calls Moses, they have it out because Moses does not want the job.  Moses is mature, he knows well his own scars, flaws and inadequacies – not a bold man, not comfortable as a public speaker.  God does not see this as a show stopper – He embraces the strengths and fills in the gaps and weaknesses.  Over the chapters of Exodus we see God forging Moses into the kind of man for whom accomplishing the mission is a natural out-flow of who he is. 

In essence, God is now saying to Joshua – “Look, I’m with you.  I have done this before with Moses.  I’m going to do the same thing for you.  I’m at your side.  I will grow you into the person for whom living into this calling is as natural as breathing.  You cannot disqualify yourself with inadequacies, so don’t bother trying to argue.  I’m with you.  We have a great adventure ahead.  So be strong and courageous."

Given all this, a final question – this is a great inspirational story, but does it really apply to me?  How can I be absolutely certain God is still in this business, and interested in playing this role in my life?  I know my flaws, weaknesses, fears.  If God is not with me, the uncertainty of the future and my own inadequacies are huge obstacles, and courage just looks like self-delusion.    

Acts 4:13. 

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”  The same God is in the same business.  The only appropriate posture in facing the future, from being with Jesus, is strength and courage.  And I have the same assurance as Joshua had, now reaffirmed by Jesus:  “[S]urely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:20. 

We have a great adventure ahead.  And the reaffirmed assurance of Emmanuel – God with us.  The mission will be accomplished.  Our identity will be forged as we remember the bigger story.  Strength and courage.  Merry Christmas.