The Funeral Service: Dead to the Past, Alive to the Future

Why Leaving Yesterday Behind is the Key to Your God-Given Future

In Joshua 1:1-2, Scripture tells us, "After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 'Moses, my servant, is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them.'"

I imagine Joshua was anxious and afraid. Moses, their leader, was gone. What were they supposed to do now? Where would they go? Would they be okay? It’s no surprise that Joshua lingered after Moses' death, likely still mourning the loss of a beloved leader. He probably didn’t know what to do—so he did nothing. He couldn’t go back to the past because it was gone. And moving forward felt daunting with so much uncertainty ahead. He was stuck, trapped in indecision, fear, and doubt.

What was God’s advice to Joshua? What did he tell him to do? God confirmed the reality: "Moses is dead, and he isn’t coming back. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan!"

God’s direction to Joshua was, in essence, to hold a funeral service. Not just to bury the past, but also to bury his doubts, fears, and indecision. Those, too, needed to go into the grave. Bury them. Mourn them. Then get up and move forward.

The Lord was telling Joshua, and he is telling you today: your blessing, your promise, and your victory aren’t lingering in the past. They are waiting for you in the difficult task of crossing over your own "Jordan"—that obstacle standing between you and what God has promised. Arise! Leave the past behind and cross over those obstacles. Walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Trust that if you step into the unknown, Joshua’s promise will be your promise too: "I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous" (1:5-6). But as you move forward, make sure "to do according to all the law… Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go… This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night… For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success" (1:7-8).

Your victory doesn’t come from change itself but from rooting that change in God, in his Word, and in his promises.

• Trust the promise of God (1:1-6)

• Trust the providence of God (1:7)

• Trust the provision of God (1:8-9)

• Prepare yourself and those around you for the blessing of God (1:10-15)

• Faithfully obey God and follow his commands (1:16-17)

• Separate yourself from those who are not committed to God or his mission (1:18)

This idea of letting go of the painful or disappointing entanglements of the past is echoed in the New Testament. Paul instructs us, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13–14). Take Paul's advice and leave the past exactly where it's at—behind you—and reach forward to those things which lie ahead. We have a race to finish and a mission to complete. Don’t give up. Keep working, grinding, straining, pressing, pushing, because "our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works" (Titus 2:13-14).

You have been saved to be sent.
You have been saved to be missional.
You have been saved to be faithful.