Everyone knows the names Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. As part of Apollo 11 they were the first two humans to land on the moon. But they didn’t go up there alone. There was a third astronaut with them. He stayed in the command module and his name was named Michael Collins. He kept the module in lunar orbit so that the other two had a way to get home. While his name is largely lost to the public consciousness, some have referred to him as the loneliest human in all of history.
While Neil and Buzz were going on their little hike, Collins took a trip to the dark side of the moon. This means that he was more than 2,000 miles away from the first and second closest humans, and around 240,000 miles away from the third closest human. For some scale, if you were here in New Jersey, then the next closest person would be around Mexico City, and the third is on another planet. Since astronauts back then were mostly made up of crazy test pilots, I’m sure he kept his cool. I would be freaking out a little bit.
The frighteningly normal thing is that we don’t even need to be in a tin can floating in space to understand this feeling of possible dread. In Deuteronomy, Moses is handing over the reins of leading Israel to Joshua. This was a huge responsibility. From the time they left Egypt, there was Moses out in front helping the people find their way.
Joshua, like us, was being called to take up a very heavy mantle. In instructing Joshua about the foes and challenges he would face, Moses said this, Deuteronomy 31:6-8, “6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
Even when we feel alone or far away, we can be reminded of God’s call to be strong and courageous in walking the path that we have been given.