Crossroads- A point at which a crucial decision must be made, having far-reaching consequences.
Think of all the faith heroes who lived ordinary lives. Many were farmers, shepherds, and fishermen. Every day people like you and me. Many had families to provide for, and most of them faced the same problems we face today. In Ecclesiastes, the teacher says there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 3:5 “Whatever is has already been, and whatever will be, already is, God repeats what has passed.”
Same problems. Same issues of righteousness and unrighteousness; the only difference being the sets of eyes seeing these same problems—they were from a different generation. As we all stand closer and closer to the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, I cannot help but think about what was going through their minds and hearts when God called them and spoke the words, “Follow Me?”
For example, take Moses. Exodus 2:11-15 says, “One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.”
At one time, Moses was a prince of Egypt. Then a severe circumstance occurred in his life, forcing him to ignore his station and act upon who he truly was. When his crossroads moment came, Moses chose to act. And as a result of that choice, Moses was exiled to the land of Midian. Yet all was not lost. God brought Moses to Jethro’s family. He was the priest of Midian. There, Moses ends up marrying Jethro’s daughter, Zipporah. “Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage” –Exodus 2:21.
Now, during his years in the wilderness, Moses cared for his father-in-law’s sheep; he was pretty content with the life he was living. Moses also had a family, a son named Gershom; Moses considered his life to be in order. Until the appointed day, God called him, setting him on a path that took him away from order and comfort and towards the extraordinary.
Instead of caring for sheep, God will now have Moses care for a different flock, His chosen people.
God was ready to deliver His people from 4oo years of oppression. And He’d chosen Moses for the job. “Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. “I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.” Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” –Exodus 3:7-10.
God had now led Moses to yet another crossroads moment. Moses had two paths before him. That’s part of the beauty and love of God; He’s given us free will. Yet, God knew the path Moses would take. Yes, Moses had doubts and fear. We see that in Exodus 3:11. “But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” And we read more about those doubts and fears in Exodus 4:10. “But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
How quickly we disqualify ourselves, focusing on our bad qualities, what disqualifies us, instead of seeing what God has already given us—sees in us. God sees the heart. And God knew Moses’s heart.
In one way or another, every child of God has experienced their own crossroads moment in life—or soon will. These moments of decision will not stop until we see Jesus face to face.
Now, I could have mentioned many others in the Bible who’d also faced their crossroads, but we’ll save some of them for the next time we meet, so don’t forget to look for part two of this teaching on Saturday, September 17!
But for now, how you face your crossroads moments in life is what determines how things will work out in your life. As I stated earlier, God loves us and gave us free will. So, it all comes down to what you will or will not do when you stand at your own crossroads. Jesus said in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me, but I have chosen you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask in My name, He will give you.” God already knew your heart, just like He knew Moses’ heart. And He knew which way you’d go when faced with such a choice. Ecclesiastes 3:14 says, “He made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from the beginning to the end.”
My prayer is this: when you come to those crossroad moments, may God give you, His wisdom. May He speak clearly to your hearts and minds. May you walk in the patience and the love of Jesus Christ. May He reveal all these deep things you are searching for. And, when you hear Him, you do not harden your heart but be pliable, trusting God has appointed a specific time to meet with you. Amen.
2 Corinthians 6:2 “For He says: I heard you in an acceptable time, and I helped you in the day of salvation. Look, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.” I pray you felt the tug of our Lord Jesus as you were reading this. If you are at that crossroad moment, I pray that you heed His call over you. He is ready to lead you to that defining moment that will bring you out of the wilderness and into the promise. Call out to Him and declare that Jesus is Lord in your heart and every circumstance. Ask Him to wash you clean of your every sin by the precious Blood of our Lord and Savior.
Amen.
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