Have you ever played the game of Monopoly? I am sure most of us are familiar with this game. One of my favourite cards tells the participant to "Advance to Go", not only skipping over some possible roadblocks on the way, but collecting an additional $200!!! Or what about the old "Snakes and Ladders" game? When a token landed on the base of a ladder, the player instantly advanced up the board, often missing rows of traps set along the way.
There are so many times in life when we catch a vision for a new direction. With excitement we start planning and strategizing to see its fulfillment. The problem being, we often want to jump from inspiration to implementation too quickly. We are not fans of the middle, and the work that must be done to strengthen us and bring lasting results. We want the immediate "Advance to Go" or "Ladder" that will instantly take us closer to completion without the challenges that lie in wait along the way.
This is Jeremiah's problem too. He wants the end result without the in-between. Knowing he is struggling to run with "mere men" and already falling on "open ground", God says the prophet is not ready yet for racing horses or traversing thickets. This is so true in our lives also. "Mere men" and "open ground" problems are the day-to-day roadblocks and discouragements that Satan uses to weaken our resolve so that we will not pursue even greater accomplishments. If he can weary us in the early stages of a new calling, he can defeat us before we get too far. He wants us to give up. But, what if the "mere men" and stumbling on "open ground" are evidence we are following God's will? The enemy never tries to dishearten someone going in his direction.
"Mere men" are the training ground for "horses" and the obstacles on "open ground" prepare us for the denseness of the "thicket" that threatens to prevent us from moving forward. God is strengthening us and developing within us the power needed to endure. Without each step along the way, our resolve actually diminishes. As my friend Lina writes in her Bible study, "Through the Desert", "God is too faithful to withhold from us the riches of the desert places in our lives."
Think of the Israelites and their desire to instantly be removed from Egypt and placed in the Promised Land. They wanted to jump directly from A to Z, but their journey took forty years! We also want instant everything without the work involved to ready us for all God has planned ahead. Exodus 13 tells us that God knew His people, and He also knew that the shortest route was where Egypt's military outposts were located. The Israelites were not ready to face this challenge. The opposing armies would make them change their minds and return to Egypt. God, anticipating the dangers they would face, chose not to send them the shortest way, but the safest way. The "desert" was the "mere men" and "open ground" training field for His people. "Mere men" and "open ground" are never an oversight, but a valuable part of our growth.
Where today are you seeking instant gratification? Don't try to race past the integral part of the journey. Reframe your thoughts to consider not only the situations outcome, but the character development that God is going to all this effort to accomplish so that you will be more like His Son. The time for supernatural victory over "horses" and "thickets" is coming, and He is developing in you today the abilities, courage, endurance and knowledge to be greatly used by Him.
"Through the Desert: A Study On God's Faithfulness", by Dr. Lina Abujamra; Esther Press; copyright 2023
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