Pisgah
My Dear Shepherds,
When our son was in middle school, we learned that his math teacher, a Christian, volunteered as a camera operator for a Saturday evening service at Willow Creek Community Church. We wanted our son to see his teacher serving the Lord that way. Willow Creek had a large food court, so we went early to eat. As we sat there, our son looked around that huge room and said, “Dad, our whole church would fit in here!” I winced!
I struggled with the size of our congregation. Once, an Elder I greatly respected was telling me about flourishing churches in our area. “I’m embarrassed by our church,” he said. It was a gut punch.
I thought of old Moses on Mt. Pisgah looking off to a land flowing with milk and honey, a land he would never enter.
At that time I pleaded with the LORD: “Sovereign LORD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand…. Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan….”
But God said no, adding sternly, “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter.” Years before Pastor Moses’ heart had been broken by the faithless Israelites. Then, with the Promised Land finally in sight, the LORD himself was the heartbreaker.
Some of the dreams we envision for our ministry are unwise; well-intentioned perhaps, good for someone else, but not God’s direction for us. But there are other hopes pastors have that are biblical and that seem to rise out of our earnest prayers. But they just never come to pass. The money doesn’t come in. Power struggles simmer. Evangelism efforts fall flat. Despite prayers for young families, none come.
It can get crowded on Pisgah. Lots of sighs are carried off on the wind.
Even though Moses bore responsibility for the forbidden access, he pleaded for God’s compassion:
“Sovereign LORD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?”
Moses had seen the exodus and wilderness miracles and then, finally, a generation ready to trust God’s promises. But it was just a beginning! God’s great finale lay just ahead—just beyond the river.
We’ve wanted so badly to see our people cross over from wilderness living into fruitfulness, to love one another, to be strong in the Lord, to accomplish something great. We’ve preached and prayed that they might be agents of God’s grace in our community, ambassadors of salvation and public examples of holiness. God has answered prayers. We have seen wonders. But then we must wait some more, or we have to leave.
You may yet lead your people into extraordinary experiences of God’s fulfilled promises. They may yet build an altar of twelve stones, conquer obstacles, and settle together into the peace of God. But maybe not in your time. Maybe never in this place.
Regardless of what happens, we will not be left languishing on Pisgah. Moses did not end his days pleading to see the God-blessed land. He was buried by God on nearby Mt. Nebo, and in God’s good time, he appeared in “glorious splendor” with Jesus and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. He did see the Land of Promises. He did see his people safely home.
So will we. The saints entrusted to us will cross over. They will serve God day and night in his temple. They will be safe, holy, and blessed. Every promise fulfilled. Be patient and faithful. And…
Be ye glad!
Lee Eclov
Retired Pastor, CT Pastors Contributor, leeeclov.com
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What the church gets wrong—and what it can get right—about forming a generation shaped by screens and longing for purpose.
We have a holy opportunity to return to our roots—a chance to recover the kind of care that once marked every aspect of the early church.
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