Ever feel like you aren’t stuck in life but, boy oh boy, are things moving slow? Man, I have! Days where I look to the horizon and I see awesomeness out there but it just feels like it’s taking for-ev-er to get there. The saying “slower than Christmas” comes to mind. This can be in any area of life…home, family, work, church, relationships…anywhere. Ever feel like God has set something in your heart…something that you know that you know that is going to happen…it just hasn’t happened yet. You look back and you can see your footprints that are leading you toward that something but it is still just a loooooong way off. Ever feel totally frustrated and just want to freakin’ get there? Like you’re 3/4 of the way through a road trip and you can see the signs that tell you that you are getting close to your final destination…you just ain’t there quite yet. Usually on our long road trips this is the point where everyone gets more tense, a little more snippy and whiney. We just want to get there!!!!!
“But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you until you have increased enough to take possession of the land” Exodus 23: 29-30
Moses…oh Moses…the man of waiting…and friends, he didn’t even get to go to the Promise Land in this life…he got a glimpse before he died. He did however set foot in the Promise Land at the transfiguration with Jesus. Look that one up and be amazed!!!! When he met with Jesus and Elijah on the mountain…smack dab in the middle of the Promise Land my friends! Promise fulfilled!!!!! Matt 17:1-13
But let’s get back to Exodus. Moses said these words…well really God said these words through Moses to the Israelites. God had made a promise….the Promise Land. But God knew that the Israelites weren’t ready to take over the whole area. Maybe they didn’t have the man power. Maybe they didn’t have the tools needed to take care of the land yet. Maybe they just couldn’t get to all the land right away (no cars kids…road trips were on foot or animal..talk about a long walk!) But God knew that they weren’t ready and couldn’t take care of His entire gift to them just quite yet, and He knew that if He cleared the land too soon it would be taken over by wild animals and would not be good ground for His people because it had not been tended in so long. God KNEW! He knew and He did what His people needed Him to do…”little by little”. He did exactly what they could handle, exactly when they could handle it. He was allowing them to learn and grow while they were being given the promise. Could it be that He does the same with us now?
You can see the footsteps behind you getting you closer to your destination but you are still looking to that horizon…to that promise that God has given you. Could it be that He knows what we can handle better than we do? Could it be that He is fulfilling His promise to us but doing it in a way that we can follow and obey and not be discouraged because we’ve been given more than we can handle. Could it be that He is protecting the path where we are fixin’ to walk. Now I’m not saying that God won’t do big sudden things in our lives that move us right into a new land, a new area, a new promise…He does that too, the Bible proves that. But we live in a “fast food” world. We live in a world where we want what we want and we want it NOW! What if we can’t handle what we want right now and God knows that. If you have kids like I do, you know that they often think themselves much more capable than they really are…think 2 or 3 year old thinking they are big enough to pour themselves a drink from a full gallon of milk. What happens…BIG MESS and then Mom and Dad and the helpful dog 😉 get to clean up the milky mess on the floor. Knowing that God knows better than me what I can handle at any given time better than I do makes me feel oh so much better. So, I have a decision to make. I have a choice…I can whine and complain that it is taking too long or I can be thankful that He knows and He is in control and He will get me exactly where I need to get exactly when I am ready to get there. Oh that we would choose to keep our eyes on that horizon of promise and step where He knows is safe for us to step and trust He will get us there safely. Enjoy the journey!
A Beautiful Mess 