Journey to ResolveResolution 3: Aim High

 

Look up. Into the sky.

Can you see the end of the sky?

We can’t see the end, can we? And we don’t have to. It’s satisfying to know there is no end. In fact, the phrase, “The sky’s the limit,” means there is no limit. No limit to the length of the sky. No limit to how successful we can be. No limit to how much money we can earn. No limit to what we can accomplish...

No limit. Aim High. Eyes on the prize. We can get there.

It works the same with resolutions.

Resolution #3: I Will Aim High

We discussed worshiping and obeying God in Resolutions 1 and 2. Worshiping the true God while also worshiping other “gods” is not really worshiping the true God. Obeying God sporadically or less than wholeheartedly is not really obeying God. But if we aim high, we will be more consistent in our worship and obedience. We will be less prone to compromise and, instead, position ourselves to succeed rather than fall short. What I mean by aiming high is honoring God more earnestly. I mean not settling for being average or good enough – not getting comfortable or complacent. We need to pack a little more punch and strive a little more. Technically speaking, we need to give in to the Holy Spirit more and to our natural hearts less. Numbers 20 includes a story that illustrates this reality. It’s about Moses and his brother Aaron (Exodus 4:14).

Life wasn’t easy for Moses and Aaron. (Serving God, when done well, is often difficult. If our ministry experience is somewhat smooth sailing, maybe we need to aim higher. I admit I need to aim higher.) God directed Moses and Aaron to lead His people on an extended journey to a new and improved existence – no longer captive in Egypt and enjoying the blessings of God in “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). The duo led anywhere from 50,000 to over 2 million Israelites on this quest. At the time of the events of Numbers 20, the Israelites had been hiking for approximately 39 years. 39 years for Moses and Aaron to lead this mass of people who often preferred to be back in Egypt…and they were on foot the entire time! But their occupation of the promised land was getting close. It was almost time for the Israelites to inhabit this land specially chosen by God Himself – a land where they would become a great nation.

Moses and Aaron knew they would enter their new homeland soon because they knew about God’s declaration that Israel would wander for 40 years (Numbers 14:20-35). But God didn’t allow them to enter the land because they failed to aim high toward the end of their journey. Maybe they were looking forward to finally settling down. 39 years was quite enough time to travel with such a crowd of belligerent ingrates.

And they fell short.

Numbers 20:24 is God’s declaration that Aaron would die before Israel entered the promised land. Both Moses and Aaron failed to follow God’s command and Moses would die for the same reason, but he still needed to lead the people and later pass the torch to Israel’s next leader (Numbers 27:12-23). For now, it was time for Aaron to hand the priestly baton to his son who would replace him.

At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom,
the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
“Aaron will be gathered to his people.
He will not enter the land I give the Israelites
because both of you rebelled against
my command at the waters of Meribah.
Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and
take them up Mount Hor.
Remove Aaron’s garments and
put them on his son Eleazar,
for Aaron will be gathered to his people;
he will die there.”

Moses did as the Lord commanded:
They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community.
Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar.
And Aaron died there on top of the mountain.
Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain,
and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died,
all the Israelites mourned for him thirty days.

Numbers 20:23-29

The Israelites complained and opposed Moses and Aaron for 4 decades. I imagine it was a common element of their exhausting exodus. They feared Egyptian pursuit. They desired to worship as the Egyptians did. They preferred the comforts of Egypt over their arduous meandering through the wilderness. They sometimes lacked water to accompany their boring food. And they walked every length of their journey, so there must have been more bickering. They probably overtly challenged the leadership of Moses and Aaron from time to time – maybe even regularly. In addition to all of this antagonism, Moses and Aaron had recently lost their sister. And finally, as we read in Numbers 20, the Israelites complained about how bad their situation was, as if they were going to die in the wilderness (Numbers 20:2-4). “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!,” they clamored.

Had I been in that crowd, I probably would have felt the same as the Israelites, but what would we have done if we were the leaders? Would we have chosen to aim high?

Aaron died in this story because he, along with Moses, lost sight of the high road – the road that would please God (Numbers 20:6-13). At first, they did the right thing. They responded with prayer and humility as they often did, and God told them what to do.

_____

But something happened along the way and they took their eyes off of God and His instruction. God said speak to the rock and Moses struck the rock instead. All they had to do was speak to the rock, but there was a struggle deep in their hearts. They failed to honor God as the holy God whom we need to respect and obey, and they instead took matters into their own hands – probably emotion-driven hands. They didn’t trust our God in that moment.

**** Click to tweet ****

Something happened along the way
and they took their eyes off of God.
They failed to honor God
as the holy God.

They instead took matters
into their own hands.

****

_____

We might wonder what was wrong with how Moses responded? The first time he got water from a rock, God directed him to strike it (Exodus17:1-7). Wasn’t it within his discretion to strike it again? No, it wasn’t since he had clear instruction from God. The first time, God specifically directed Moses to strike the rock. This time God told him to speak to the rock (Numbers 20:8). To truly honor God, Moses was to obey in faith and speak to the rock.

And why was Aaron held responsible for Moses’ mistake? There may be a couple reasons. Firstly, it wasn’t just Moses’ mistake. Their leadership was a team effort. Both Moses and Aaron bowed before God in front of the Israelite community to seek His direction. Additionally, the staff Moses used to strike the rock may have been under Aaron’s oversight as the High Priest, for it was stored in "the Lord’s presence" possibly in the tabernacle (Numbers 20:9). Either way, Aaron had a hand in carrying out God’s command and he was equally responsible for the activity of bringing water from the rock. Both Moses and Aaron were to aim high and honor God’s clear command.

But they didn’t.

There are a couple important truths about aiming high from this story.

1. We need discipline to honor God’s standard

We need to be committed to honoring God. It takes discipline. In Numbers 20:6-13 we see God’s clear instruction and how Moses and Aaron fell short. At some point, they lost focus on honoring God. In fact, they put themselves in the place of God as they acted from their own hearts instead of God’s. It’s easy to take our eyes off of God and inadvertently or unintentionally insert our own attitudes and actions in our day-to-day efforts. We can even do this in our ministry (or what we should understand as our submission to God’s ministry). Let’s do a heart check weekly, maybe daily. Take some time to reflect on our intentions and our activities looking back and looking forward. Are we obeying and striving for God’s standard? Are we aiming high with discipline?

Numbers 20:13 says God was “proved holy among them.” Despite Moses and Aaron’s attitudes and actions, God was in charge and the One to be revered. He was present and the Israelites needed to live like He was with them. It was their choice to either journey as God commanded or to grumble and complain. This relates to our 2^nd truth.

2. God will accomplish His will with or without us.

God’s people made it to the promised land and God didn’t allow Moses and Aaron to join them. Pause for a moment. This is sobering. God asked Moses and Aaron to lead His people out of Egypt and through the wilderness so they could enjoy the fruitful land He selected for them. Yet, Moses and Aaron were not allowed to enjoy it themselves. In fact, none of the grown-ups (except for Joshua and Caleb) were allowed to enter the land because they all failed to aim high and honor God (Hebrews 3:7-19).

Let’s go back to Aaron’s story:

“Aaron will be gathered to his people.
He will not enter the land I give the Israelites,
because both of you rebelled against
my command at the waters of Meribah.

Numbers 20:24

Aaron’s journey ended less than a year before Israel entered the promised land. He didn’t get to experience the conquest – the climax and end game of the exodus. Think for a moment. What will the end of our lives as individuals look like? Will we aim high throughout our remaining days? Maybe the Israelite community thought about this as they witnessed the priestly successor descend Mount Hor. And what do you suppose ran through Moses’ mind and heart?

**** Click to tweet ****

What will the end of our lives
as individuals look like?

Will we aim high
throughout our remaining days?

****

We get weary and frustrated sometimes. Self-sacrifice is hard to maintain, and we do slip up. I know I do. In my post titled Celebration of Life and Legacy, I wrote about maintaining focus in the latter years of our lives. Here’s an excerpt that directly relates to this resolution to aim high up to the very end:

I play 3-on-3 recreational ice hockey. We skate full speed during our shifts on the ice, so the final period of the game is the hardest – the most tiring. That’s also the time when our opponents can beat us if they work harder than us. It’s easy to lose a lead and lose the game in the 3^rd period.

If we serve God, we have the lead in our figurative 3^rd period. We also have the advantage. Let’s not lose focus because we got burnt out or tired of serving. God can make us soar like eagles, elevating us to even higher heights (Isaiah 40:28-31). Let’s continue to strive as the Apostle Paul did so well (Philippians 3:7-21). “Our citizenship in is heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” who gave His all to the very end throughout His mission on earth.

More resolutions to come...

The resolutions and Bible books in this series:

I will…

1. Worship God Alone (Exodus 20:24)
2. Be More Holy (Leviticus 20:24)
3. Aim High (Numbers 20:24)
4. Trust in God’s Strength (Judges 20:24)
5. Nurture Quality Friendships (1 Samuel 20:24)
6. Stand for God’s Government (2 Samuel 20:24)
7. Follow God Through Highs and Lows (1 Kings 20:24)
8. Let God Win My Battles (2 Chronicles 20:24)
9. Rise Above the Naysayers (Job 20:24)
10. Trust God’s Ways (Proverbs 20:24)
11. Allow God to Correct Me (Ezekiel 20:24)
12. Serve Others Without the Glory (Matthew 20:24)
13. Rely On the Wisdom of God (Luke 20:24)
14. Trust the Words of My Savior (John 20:24)
15. Complete the Work God Has for Me (Acts 20:24)

If you want to dialog more about holiness, feel free to leave a comment or email me at authordlv@att.net. God is holy and He wants us to be holy like He is. He wants us to be characterized by that which is praiseworthy and excellent.

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