Walking into this new year is like walking into a dark room that you’re not familiar with. Walking around with our hands out, trying to find our way through the unknown. There is this sense that we are just fumbling around in the dark, trying to find our way to the other side. We don’t know what to expect. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know where things will be. We’re grasping for something, for anything to guide us, to show us where to go and what to do.
We don’t know what this year is going to bring, but we do have a guide through the Great Unknown.
In Joshua 3, the children of Israel were right on the brink of blessing, right there on the wrong side of the Jordan River. Before them was a land of opportunity, but a raging river of difficulty was between them. In verse 3, Joshua instructs the people, “When you see the Ark of the Covenant move, go after it.” And, he says in verse 4, the reason is, “that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” Like never before, we’re walking through unexplored territory. We don’t know what the next fifteen seconds are going to hold, never mind the next year. We’ve never been this way before. We’ve never been in a pandemic that has lasted for two years in our lifetime. And, so we need God to guide us through these unknown times and places.
The key to this entire passage is the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was an Old Testament picture, a prophecy, a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Ark represented the presence of God with His people, and that’s exactly who Jesus Christ is, Immanuel, God with us. Everything about the Ark and in the Ark points to Jesus. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law, the ten commandments. The manna points to Jesus being the bread of life that satisfies our hunger and thirst for righteousness. Aaron’s rod represents the priesthood, and we know Jesus is our High Priest. The staff also sprouted buds and brought forth flowers and fruit, a clear demonstration of the power of the One who gives life. Jesus is the only One who can give you abundant life and eternal life. The Ark of the Covenant and all its contents point to Jesus in every sense.
There was something radical that happened in the life of those people. They had been wandering in the wilderness for forty years, and now they’re about to make a dramatic change. They had been carrying that Ark around in circles for forty years, and they never entered into the promised land. It wasn’t the Ark that changed. It was the position of the Ark. They’d had possession of the Ark. The Ark had been in their midst. Now, the Ark is no longer in their midst. The Ark is out in front of them. The Ark is now their head. They are now allowing the Ark to lead them. No longer are they taking the Ark with them. They are now following after the Ark.
All Christians possess the same thing. Jesus. Complete victory is not what they possess, it is in position. Complete victory is not in possession; it is in position. The angels said to the shepherds, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). He is Savior, and He is Lord. When the Christ who abides in you begins to preside over you when Jesus is not only your Savior but also your Lord, then He can lead you to complete victory. He’ll lead you to abundant life. He’ll lead you to fulfillment. He’ll lead you to victory.
The difference between a victorious Christian and a struggling Christian is not in possession but in position. You have to learn how to follow after the Ark. You have to come to the point in your faith journey where you say, “I am not just going to wander around with Christ in me, but I am going to allow Him to lead me in every area of my life. I am not going to take a step without my eyes on the Ark; wherever the Ark goes, that’s where I’m going”.
Victory is seeing which way God is going and following Him. That’s it. “When you see the Ark move, go after it.” Going into the New Year, I encourage you to focus your attention on Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t run ahead of Him. Don’t lag behind Him. When you see Him move, go after Him. The Lord will lead His people through these unchartered times.
“We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection.” – Hebrews 12:2 (TPT)