Gods of the Amorites

The Pilgrim’s Desk feels especially comforting this afternoon. I look out the window, across the tops of trees now green with leaves, and beyond to the distant hills.

And yet, I feel a need to retreat.

Not burnout… just a quiet sense of overload.

It comes from being around so many people who have made a choice that does not include Jesus as Lord and Savior.

My thoughts turn to Joshua, standing before his people, urging them to choose:

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…”

I imagine he already knew.

Some would return to the gods of their fathers beyond the river. Others would follow the gods of the Amorites in whose land they now lived.

Different names… same choice.

During the cooler months, I wear a sweatshirt with John 3:16 printed across the front. When I ask people if they’ve ever heard it, most say yes.

Almost everyone has heard.

And most have already decided.

The Good News, for many, has become old news. Something they’ve heard before… something they’ve set aside.

Most people are polite. Some are indifferent. And occasionally, someone looks at me as if I’m handing them yesterday’s newspaper and calling it breaking news.

And I find myself wondering…

How did we get here?

Somehow, the “gods” of this present age feel more appealing—more current, more in step with the culture, more acceptable to the so-called enlightened mind.

And I feel it rise up in me.

That old voice.

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

I don’t know if Joshua spoke those words gently… or as a firm declaration. Maybe both.

But I can feel the tension in my own heart.

Part conviction.
Part frustration.

And then the Spirit settles it.

The choice is still the same.

Not theirs… mine.

So as for me—

I will serve the Lord.

And perhaps… I will also take a little time to step away and recharge.

Because even pilgrims need rest between the roads.

_______

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 (NKJV)