IT’S TIME TO MOVE

We were never meant to take up permanent residence in the wilderness….only to pitch our tent there temporarily. After being released from bondage there is always time in the wilderness where we are meant to regroup, recharge and renew. This is the place we learn to trust God and believe in the promises of the promise land. But as with anything worthwhile it is not easy. It’s not easy to trust when you only have enough manna for the day and God won’t let you save any for a rainy day. Just enough vision, just enough strength, just enough support, just enough….for another day. With each new day you have to trust that He will give you what you need. 

Beware of the traps of the wilderness. Beware of the wilderness mentality. The wilderness mentality is highly contagious. The wilderness mentality quits believing on the way to the promise land. When you have time read about God’s people being released from bondage and their time in the wilderness on the way to the promised land, starting with the book of Exodus. Only two of the original millions made it to the promise land. That is significant and worthy of a closer look. They went from bondage to having prayers answered.  From freedom of an unhappy past to fear that it wouldn’t last, after all Pharaoh was chasing them to bring them back. But God had released them and the battle was no longer theirs now it was His and as long as they kept moving forward Pharaoh would be powerless to catch them. Then they went from victory to murmuring…..regressing to a defeatist slave mentality…even going so far as to say they had been better off in bondage! Beware of the wilderness mentality.  They abandoned the God that released them to worship idols as their oppressors did!

Beware of the wilderness mentality. They believed in their fear instead of fearing God. Beware of the wilderness mentality. Twelve spies were sent to see if there were any enemies standing between them and the land God had promised. What do you think they found? Of course…enemies..there will always be opposition standing between you and where God is taking you. Whether they be internal or external. Ten spies said we can never defeat them and two said are you kidding?! With God on our side we cannot only defeat our opposition we can take by force and possess everything God meant for us to have. Consequently, because the wilderness mentality is so contagious they did not believe God could deliver them again and God’s people wandered in the wilderness 40 years and out of all the millions that made it out of slavery only the two spies from that original generation made it to the promise land. They believed God would conquer their adversaries (after all they had seen him do it before). They received what they believed, whether it be the good report or the bad. Even Moses, the prophet that God had seen face to face, never made it to the promise land because he allowed the sin of others to induce pride and disobedience in himself, which would not go unpunished. Beware of the wilderness mentality.

You absolutely have a choice to what you believe and who you believe in. But if you will just remind yourself of what God has told you the choice is not hard and very clear. God’s Word says…no weapon formed against you shall prosper… you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you…you are the head not the tail…the battle is not yours…all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord…be strong and of good courage….I will be with you always even until the end of time….without faith it is impossible to please God….if the Lord is for me who can be against me…what can man do to me…feed my sheep…..I could go on and on but you get the idea. Yes, He is speaking to you. He is so kind, so loving, so merciful, so full of compassion, tenderness and grace.

Ask yourself what is God’s best for my life. What has He called me to? What plan has he laid out for me? Where have my steps been ordered to go? Are you stuck in the wilderness? Have you succumbed to the wilderness mentality? I get it. I do. Sometimes when you are in the wilderness, whether someone chased you there or you ran there on your own (really doesn’t matter which), sometimes the best you can do is function in spite of. But there comes a time when you should ask… Is this God’s best for my life? If the answer is no and you are just functioning in spite of, then you are living outside of God’s will. If you are living outside of God’s will then the plan devised to get you and keep you off course, out of alignment and living below your means has worked.  The difference between those who do and those that don’t is belief. The belief not only that God can do what he says he can do but that he can do it for you. Your belief has been under attack from the very first day you believed. There are forces at work to conspire to keep you from moving toward anything worthwhile for your life. Because if you do those forces know that what you want, expect, work toward and desire will surely come to pass. And just like the wilderness mentality is contagious, so is hope. Hope for a brighter future, hope in the promises of God. Look how powerfully the prayers of the God’s people were answered and look how most were never able to experience God’s best for their lives.

Don’t let what you’ve been through shape where you’re going. You have been released from bondage don’t keep running back to it. It’s all a choice, so….. choose this day whom you will serve.

I know I have asked a lot of questions today but these are questions God asks all of us at the crossroads of our lives. And the answers determine your destiny. So where are you going from here?  You do yourself a disservice when you waver. If you sell yourself short you’ll always come up that way…short. But on the other hand as my old friend Rocky Balboa would say…”If you know what you’re worth than go get what your worth” and I say don’t settle for less and don’t settle in the wilderness. Pack up your tent, leave what you don’t need and get ready its time to move…….. into the promise land.

With Love, Ms. Wanda,GAC