Finding Rest and Being Satisfied in the Land of See and Trust

I’ve just turned the last page in the book of Deuteronomy. Moses’s ministry has come to a close, his life has come to its end, and he’s given a glimpse of the land God had promised to his people. But he will never set foot on it.

One of the benefits of my plodding through Deuteronomy at a snail’s pace is that it mirrors the pace of Israel’s journey. When I began my reading of the longest sermon in the Bible, Moses was already reminiscing about the people’s rock-hard stubbornness. When I read in Chapter 34 that Moses had reached the finish line and God had taken care of all the details, it felt like the gift of a well-earned rest.

I wonder: Was it hard for Moses to trust that the world would keep spinning without him?

The Land of See and Trust

Both Moses and Abraham were well-educated in the school of See and Trust. Their stories bookend the Pentateuch with encouragement for anyone who lives in waiting mode. (All of us?) Both men received the promise from God and then died without taking possession of the real estate.

We get a glimpse of Moses’s thoughts on mortality in Psalm 90. After 120 years of “toil and trouble,” his final rest was well-earned, but it’s also clear that he knew the source of ultimate satisfaction was never intended to be a new mailing address in The Promised Land:

"Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." (Psalm 90:14 ESV)

Moses chose to be satisfied, to rest in the joy of The Given rather than wrestling with God over The Not-Given. Finding rest in the land of See and Trust is a tough assignment. We’d much rather See and Possess! Right now!

The key to Moses’s peaceful ending lies in his choice to trust. He chose to rest in the steadfast love of God so many times that it became a habit for him.

What are you waiting for? Even a longing for a good thing can destroy your rest if it becomes an ultimate thing. Are you praying for the salvation of a loved one? For a career break through? For healing of a broken relationship?

Take grace first. Take his steadfast love, and rejoice. Like Moses, we can rest in the reality of God’s good intentions toward us, even if the outcome is not at all what we had envisioned.