Fall Kick-Off (Doug)

So when I took over at my new job I had a very daunting task. I’ve been given the reigns of a very successful ministry on the heels of a person who did the job with excellence. I’ve been training and coming up to speed all summer and the moment of truth is finally here. This weekend Student Ministries at FCCH finally kicks off. Back when I first came on board I got to spend some (far too little) time learning from my predecessor, Suzan, about the ins, outs, and what-have-you’s about ministry here at FCCH. But I still had a good couple of months to go till the time where I would actually be responsible for the teens on a week to week basis.
At the time those months seemed like an eternity. Until this when my sister reminded me of the words of Jed Bartlett who said “Break’s over.” Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. Panic set in and I began to wish for more time to learn, more time to get things ready, more time to plan. But yesterday my friend, Baird, was praying and he said something to the effect of “Thank you God, because you give us exactly the amount of time we need to accomplish what you want us to accomplish.” The reminder of this simple truth blew me away. I love how God speaks to me through other people at exactly the time we need to hear from Him. Kim & Jed are both right, Break’s over.
The day Suzan left I said I felt, in some small way, how Joshua must have felt the day he watched Moses begin his hike up Mt. Nebo. In Deuteronomy 34 we read that when Moses was finished speaking all of what is recording in the previous 33 chapters he climbed up Mt. Nebo to meet his old friend, God. He never came back down. It doesn’t mention in the text what Joshua did or said but I imagine there were tears and waves of self doubt and moments of disbelief over whether he was actually ready to assume the mantle that God had placed on him. He probably wished for more time with Moses to just ask him a few more questions like “What do I do if they try that Golden Calf trick again?”, “Where did you find that cool staff and how can I get one?”, and “Is my beard long enough or should I let it grow some more?” But no, he was all by his lonesome. And then in verse 9 God’s Spirit fills Joshua. And the rest is history. I kind of have a hunch that along with that filling of God’s Spirit came the realization that God had given Joshua exactly the right amount of time to prepare for his new role. Nothing more; nothing less. I don’t know how I know that. Let’s just call it a hunch.