Successful living. Isn’t that what we all strive for?
Yet there are times in each Christian’s life when we get comfortable and refuse to budge even when we are miserable in our circumstances. We talk to everyone about our problems (except God) in the hopes that each listener will give sympathy to us, or else make exceptions for our behavior, or perhaps even take care of whatever we are whining about. And if we complain long enough, perhaps they will do it for us so that we won’t have to go through the heartache nor exert any of our own energy to grow into a better situation.
We have all been in a time of growth at one point or another. Any time we are asked to stretch ourselves so that we grow beyond our current level it can be quite painful. We find ourselves wishing that we could deal with anything else except what we’re undergoing. It’s during those dark and trying times in life that we need the encouragement of others so that we can begin to move towards the next level of maturity that God has in store for us. These murky times are not meant to be lived in permanently and the longer a person remains in this dismal state without any indication of forward movement to get out of it, the more scarce the support from family and friends gets as they weary of the prolonged, constant complaining about this negative situation. This may sound cruel, yet without any evidence that the sufferer wants to move on and is working to do so, the impression is that the person is comfortable in this miserable state and wants to remain there. Regardless of how much they (or others) pray and beg God for relief of this burdensome time in the ‘desert,’ He won’t until they are willing to put feet on their prayers and step out onto the path He provides as a way to escape from this bondage.
Exodus 20:1-2 “And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
God provided a way for the Israelites to get out of Egypt and escape their slavery, but they had to be willing to walk out of that country on their own feet once He had cleared the path. God was not going to supernaturally remove them from their situation (though He has that ability) and there were those who chose not to leave Egypt and instead preferred to stay in their life of slavery. For those Israelites who did leave Egypt, it wasn’t long before they grumbled and complained about being in the desert as they stared at the bleakness of their surroundings and their perceived lack. Instead, they should have continued to trust God to provide for them and lead them to someplace better. The desert was not the destination; merely the path they needed to travel to get to their place of promise.
While they were on their way to this Promise Land, since they were unable to imagine how good the land was that God was leading them into, they continually looked back towards the direction of Egypt and longed for the familiar things they had known while they lived there. They had forgotten the hardships of slavery they had endured and what it was like to live under subjection to the Egyptians. There is some truth in the adage that ‘it’s easier to live with the evil you know than to live with what you don’t know.’ The fact is, the more the Israelites dug their heels into the sand and looked backward with deep yearning to where God had brought them out of, the longer the Promise Land remained out of reach and the more miserable the Israelites became.
The same is true for us. We each have experienced our own land of ‘Egypt’ – our own desert times of growth - at some point in our lives, and perhaps that’s where you are even today. We are held there in bondage by addictions, or personal crises (some of our own making, while others are unexpected), or bad habits of thought and/or action, or other trying situations becaues we cannot see the better place God wants to move us into. These uncomfortable times are viewed by many as punishment, yet God uses these as opportunities for growth to mold you into a more mature state where you learn on a much deeper level how greatly God loves you and will always take care of every part of your life.
These ‘desert’ times of growth can be painful, lonely and if prolonged, may seem as if they will never end. Yet we are assured that we are not alone…
Psalm 48:14 ”God is our God forever and ever; he will be our God even to the end.”
… that He will guide us ….
Isaiah 30:21 ”Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.””
… and that it will be worth it if we continue walking out of our particular desert.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Prayer is good, but unless combined with action, you will stay in either your ‘Egypt’ or your desert state only to remain miserable in your stagnation. Bring to Him all of the dreams you have in your heart, every problem you are facing and each of the circumstances that fill your day. Then dare to take God at His word, take His hand in complete trust, and walk out of your ‘Egypt’ into the desert on the path He has made for you. The promise land is just up ahead.
Phillipians 1:6 “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
He’s waiting for you.
(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)
Yet there are times in each Christian’s life when we get comfortable and refuse to budge even when we are miserable in our circumstances. We talk to everyone about our problems (except God) in the hopes that each listener will give sympathy to us, or else make exceptions for our behavior, or perhaps even take care of whatever we are whining about. And if we complain long enough, perhaps they will do it for us so that we won’t have to go through the heartache nor exert any of our own energy to grow into a better situation.
We have all been in a time of growth at one point or another. Any time we are asked to stretch ourselves so that we grow beyond our current level it can be quite painful. We find ourselves wishing that we could deal with anything else except what we’re undergoing. It’s during those dark and trying times in life that we need the encouragement of others so that we can begin to move towards the next level of maturity that God has in store for us. These murky times are not meant to be lived in permanently and the longer a person remains in this dismal state without any indication of forward movement to get out of it, the more scarce the support from family and friends gets as they weary of the prolonged, constant complaining about this negative situation. This may sound cruel, yet without any evidence that the sufferer wants to move on and is working to do so, the impression is that the person is comfortable in this miserable state and wants to remain there. Regardless of how much they (or others) pray and beg God for relief of this burdensome time in the ‘desert,’ He won’t until they are willing to put feet on their prayers and step out onto the path He provides as a way to escape from this bondage.
Exodus 20:1-2 “And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
God provided a way for the Israelites to get out of Egypt and escape their slavery, but they had to be willing to walk out of that country on their own feet once He had cleared the path. God was not going to supernaturally remove them from their situation (though He has that ability) and there were those who chose not to leave Egypt and instead preferred to stay in their life of slavery. For those Israelites who did leave Egypt, it wasn’t long before they grumbled and complained about being in the desert as they stared at the bleakness of their surroundings and their perceived lack. Instead, they should have continued to trust God to provide for them and lead them to someplace better. The desert was not the destination; merely the path they needed to travel to get to their place of promise.
While they were on their way to this Promise Land, since they were unable to imagine how good the land was that God was leading them into, they continually looked back towards the direction of Egypt and longed for the familiar things they had known while they lived there. They had forgotten the hardships of slavery they had endured and what it was like to live under subjection to the Egyptians. There is some truth in the adage that ‘it’s easier to live with the evil you know than to live with what you don’t know.’ The fact is, the more the Israelites dug their heels into the sand and looked backward with deep yearning to where God had brought them out of, the longer the Promise Land remained out of reach and the more miserable the Israelites became.
The same is true for us. We each have experienced our own land of ‘Egypt’ – our own desert times of growth - at some point in our lives, and perhaps that’s where you are even today. We are held there in bondage by addictions, or personal crises (some of our own making, while others are unexpected), or bad habits of thought and/or action, or other trying situations becaues we cannot see the better place God wants to move us into. These uncomfortable times are viewed by many as punishment, yet God uses these as opportunities for growth to mold you into a more mature state where you learn on a much deeper level how greatly God loves you and will always take care of every part of your life.
These ‘desert’ times of growth can be painful, lonely and if prolonged, may seem as if they will never end. Yet we are assured that we are not alone…
Psalm 48:14 ”God is our God forever and ever; he will be our God even to the end.”
… that He will guide us ….
Isaiah 30:21 ”Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.””
… and that it will be worth it if we continue walking out of our particular desert.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Prayer is good, but unless combined with action, you will stay in either your ‘Egypt’ or your desert state only to remain miserable in your stagnation. Bring to Him all of the dreams you have in your heart, every problem you are facing and each of the circumstances that fill your day. Then dare to take God at His word, take His hand in complete trust, and walk out of your ‘Egypt’ into the desert on the path He has made for you. The promise land is just up ahead.
Phillipians 1:6 “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
He’s waiting for you.
(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)
RSS Feed