Do you get discouraged by today’s challenges and forget the reality of what God is doing in your life?
You might just be in a season of change. You may have entered something new, which could be a transition period.
I want to tell you to avoid getting STUCK in transition. The story isn’t done!
It is not uncommon to start something new with excitement and then, over time, lose your joy and the enthusiasm you started with.
Challenging moments can easily use up our launch adrenaline.
And suddenly, our weaknesses show up instead of our strengths.
Becoming a parent, starting a new job, and taking on new responsibilities all often have this trajectory.
Whatever transition you are experiencing, don’t let it weigh you down on the inside.
God has given you grace for this season – the empowerment through His strength by His Spirit to handle it with wisdom.
The Israelites needed to remember where they were. Yes, they were in the wilderness, in transition, but they forgot they were in the will of God.
And when you are in the will of God, there is provision.
When you act in obedience, there are blessings.
Remember what God is doing in your life!
Every challenge is an opportunity for growth and your strengths to become even stronger.
So, take what is bogging you down inwardly and shake it off. Relieve yourself by remembering God has a purpose, plan, and provision for this moment.
If the Israelites just reminded themselves of all God was doing for them, even previously done, it would have saved them a lot of energy and time.
Remember, it’s just a journey to the destination He is taking you to.
2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
I’ve been talking a lot about the Israelites for a good reason.
Heads up, I plan to talk about them for a while because their journey to the promised land highlights things we should NOT do if we trust God.
One of the biggest things that shocked me about the Israelites was when they began glamorizing their past.
They talked about the past as if they were missing out or simply missing being there. They had an attitude of “The good ole days.”
To give you a refresher, their past consisted of being enslaved people in Egypt! Bearing hard, undeserved, cruel labor, a past one should never want to return to.
But somehow, they wished they could go back. Why?
They were glamorizing the past because the present journey was difficult.
The Israelites were not dying in the wilderness; they were marching to their promised land. But all they could see was the difficulty of the march.
They allowed the challenges faced in transition to steal their joy.
They allowed transition challenges to cause them to forget the One traveling with them—the One who already made provision for their journey.
They were in the center of God’s will, in the hollow of His hand, the apple of His eye, the sheep of His pasture, and so are you!
Do not get distracted by sweat and the difficulty of the uphill climb! You’re still going up!
I don’t know about you, but I rejoice that God has set me free from the past. I don’t look at it as “the good ole days”, but with gratefulness for what God has taken me from and where He has placed me now.
Don’t let what you’re going through now steal your joy to the point you wish you could time travel back into the past.
God has nothing but good plans for you.
His plans are not to harm you but to give you a future, and right now, although it might seem otherwise, you are just on the journey to the promised land filled with milk and honey.
This is just a little reminder that the journey won’t be as arduous when you let go of the excess baggage and remember who’s with you.
God never left the Israelites. He ALWAYS provided food, water, and anything else they needed. That was to show you He’ll also do the same for you!
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PROMISE AS YOU JOURNEY.
Exodus 3:7-8, “Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”
I will cross over into 5,000,000 paid miles with American Airlines in a few days – not including other airlines I have flown on.
I’ve had my fair share of experiences with flying, and the biggest thing I’ve learned is what to pack and not pack. You never want too much luggage when traveling.
And that’s what I want you to remember, on flights and in life, you never want excess baggage.
I’m sure you’ve read the story of the Israelites traveling to the promised land. They carried literal and emotional baggage.
They began to lose their joy because they forgot who was with them.
They started grumbling and complaining to Moses and Aaron as if they were the problems.
They started to carry this excess luggage of worry as if they had not just watched God make a way and provide for them.
This weight started to make the Israelites travel harder as they began to fix their eyes on man instead of God.
And the reality is that they were not grumbling to Moses and Aaron but God!
When is the last time you’ve raised your hands to thank God?
When have you said, “God, I’m thankful you are my provider, the one who is not just for me, but also with me.”
Today, I want you to allow thanks to replace your worry.
The weight will become much lighter as you fix your eyes on God and notice He never left.
If you carry excess baggage, now is the time to get rid of it.
Don’t allow unresolved emotions and experiences to steal your joy.
Remember, 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
So many of us desire to be used by God, but when the opportunity comes, are we ready?
Are you built up and sensitive enough to hear and be used by God?
I have a friend who knows when they have a busy week ahead of them; they set out each outfit they will wear for each day.
Sometimes they even meal prep.
They prepare. They are ready.
When we prepare (for anything in life), we are ready for action. We don’t do the last-minute panic dance or make excuses.
The same is true when we build a prayer life and devote ourselves to reading the Word. It is our spiritual prep work.
We prepare ourselves to be used by God for the things ahead.
When you have a consistent prayer life and time spent in the Word, you are growing and developing your Spiritman.
That Spiritman is becoming sensitive and aware of God’s leading, making you useable for God to use at any moment.
Those are the people who God looks for!
Because your relationship with Him is a priority to you, He’ll use you to minister to others.
Not only are you preparing yourself, but when you consistently pray and read the Word, you will see results.
Anything you do consistently will equal results.
So, if you consistently pray and read, you will see results of spiritual growth and intimacy with God your Father. How awesome, right?
But here is the kicker – we must believe He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Too often, we stop being consistent because we want to see instant or our timing results. That is not a reason to stop!
There is a reward on the other side of your consistency.
Keep seeking, keep inquiring of God, search, and He will be found, be ready!
Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Recent Comments