"He brought us out...to bring us in."
Deuteronomy 6:23
The Lord opened up so much teaching to me through this verse this morning. I want to share with you a little of what Kelly Minter writes in her Bible Study, "No Other Gods".
"If it takes faith to say goodbye, it takes faith to say hello. The real travesty is going through all the pain of a goodbye but never enjoying the fulfillment of a new hello." "...every follower of Christ will have to walk through the desert at times in life - it is the bridge between the old and the new. But the idea is to go through the desert, not to attach there, and that takes faith." (bold print mine)
"He brought us out...to bring us in." "We make room for God to fill it. We say goodbye to say hello." "...as we release our idols from the clutches of our hearts, I believe the Lord cheers, saying, 'Now I can do amazing things. I'm ready to take you to the other side.' The question often is, do we want to go?"
As Kelly explains in her study, even the Promised Land required a fight. It didn't just drop into the laps of the Israelites. Sometimes I find I stay in my 'desert' because it is familiar. I don't necessarily enjoy being there, but it takes work to get up and travel through dry land. We may even know what our "Promised Land" is and where God is leading us, but we can't surrender the change required to make the trek. Beth Moore writes, "If your prayers have gone unanswered, perhaps what you need is within your reach. Pray instead for wisdom to see it and the energy and motivation to do it."
Just a couple of days ago, my friend Susan wrote a post about 'discipline'. Often God has shown us what He desires, but we need to take the initiative. Like the Priests who had to set foot in the Jordan River before it opened to allow the Israelites to pass through, and like the children of Israel themselves who had to taste and eat of the food in the Promised Land before the manna ceased, we must act in obedience. We need to "taste and see that the Lord is good" in the new land.
Kelly writes, "The Lord will not allow us to be in the desert forever. Manna is only for a season. If you are going through a lean time of wafers on your tongue and burning sand beneath your feet, this too shall pass."
"Take hold of the blessings God has put in front of you."
5 comments:
Great post, Joy. And you know I'm all about the desert right now. I am convinced that there is something about our earthly pilgrimages that always speak of desert heat. It's the way of sin and flesh, and as long as I have that propensity toward my flesh nature (even while walking in Promise), tasting the sand is sometimes my portion.
Thanks for sharing your heart in the matter. Sounds like a great study. Have a great day.
peace~elaine
PS: has the job finished yet?
I'm waiting for this desert to pass. I am surviving this desert only by His grace and with the knowledge and assurance that indeed it will pass.
it's so neat that we'd share a common theme today...just today I posted 'Only for a Season'...something I wrote a few years back. The LORD kept prompting my heart to share it.
Bountiful Blessings!
Great post. In these lean economic times, many people need to be reminded that this too shall pass.
Thanks for awesome words!!
Leah
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