Like Joshua of old, many of us find a river between where we are and where we need to be. For the people of Israel after 40 years of wandering, the Lord pushed back the waters of the Jordan so the people could cross on dry land.
Do you, like me, pray for God to part the River COVID and allow us to move into all of the hopes and dreams we had planned for the upcoming months? As Momentum Europe looks forward to the plans God has put on our heart, we are heartened by three lessons from the early chapters of Joshua.
First is the call to be “strong and courageous.”
Second is the recognition that the hearts of the enemy are melting.
Third is the obedience to take the next step.
I find that one of the biggest effects of the River COVID is that it becomes difficult to have any sense of urgency in the midst of so much uncertainty. Thus the lessons of Joshua take on special meaning as they guide us forward.
Being strong and courageous has many applications but pertinent to Momentum Europe at this point is that we don’t lose sight of the vision and mission that the Lord is calling us to pursue. It takes strength to keep our eyes on Europe when there are so many distractions spinning around us. It takes courage to make plans and commitments when they all seem to be at risk.
And while so much seems to be going wrong around us, God graciously has given us the conviction that now indeed the time has come for Europe. We’ve prayed for 15 years that such a time would finally come. Might the impact of those 114,000 prayers on PrayEurope.com and the tens of thousands, if not millions, of prayers since then now be taking effect? In spite of what we see outwardly, what if the hearts of those without Christ are now melting? From across the Jordan, Jericho seemed insurmountable but to those who spied out the land, it was clear that God was preparing the way.
Finally, we see that ultimately the people of Israel had to take the first steps into the River Jordan. It really began with the priests but the whole country (all the fighting men) were mobilized to follow their lead. The Jordan still flowed mightily as they prepared to cross but as they moved, God parted the waters.
That’s where Momentum Europe is today – 21 weeks into our shared global pandemic experiences. We’re mobilizing the troops. Very soon we’ll relaunch both our daily Zoom prayer gatherings and our “Above & Beyond” campaign to reach and equip 1,000 European leaders to be Ambassadors for Christ. By faith, we’re getting ready in the next week to announce plans for our February 2021 Retreat and we are working toward an April ministry trip to Europe that will touch 6 countries.
That’s kind of the big stuff but behind the scenes many gears are turning as we move to cross all the barriers presented by the River COVID. Across the Atlantic there are many great people at work and many opportunities to link with them to help ignite and resource spiritual awakening in Europe.
Let’s be strong and courageous. Hearts are melting. Let’s step forward and watch God part the waters.