I’m coming to the end of my third month of the World Race and I’m not going to lie – this race is hard. It takes everything you thought you knew and breaks it down. God is arranging and rearranging who I thought I was, who I thought He was and what the world around me looks like.
I believe that God moves in season. And in this season of my life I find myself relating to the Israelites. Moses led them out of brutal slavery into the desert on a path to a supposed promised land overflowing with milk and honey. However, many times they doubted God’s provision, stating that it would have been better to have remained in captivity rather than face death by the Egyptians in the desert. They were unable to see the Promised Land waiting for them at the end of their journey. They were unable to look past their current discomfort to the bigger picture God had planned for them.
Even though Moses revealed to them the reward God promised them at the end of their journey, they still would have rather turned back to slavery because at least they had certainty in that.
You see, many times God leads us into uncomfortable desert seasons in our life. Sometimes we may even realize these desert seasons will produce growth and fruit in the end, but still long for the comfortable nature of our past seasons, even if that means moving backwards.
But our uncertainties in God are ill founded. We are weak in our flesh and unable to understand the consistent and perfect nature of our Heavenly Father.
And trust me, patience is truly a virtue – a virtue that, at times, can seem impossible to obtain. Sitting in a dry desert waiting for God to show you a promised land that is nowhere in sight can be extremely frustrating. But it’s in these desert times that He prepares us for the gift of our Promised Land.
Even though the Israelites came from hardship as slaves under the Egyptians, their time in the desert forced them to understand what total dependence on the Lord truly looked like. They grew and were prepared to enter their Promised Land with thankful hearts postured towards a loving God.
So if you find yourself in a desert season, wandering around asking God where your Promised Land awaits, I want to encourage you to press into the discomfort. Because God does some of His most beautiful work in the wilderness of the desert. Like when Elijah hears the small still voice of God, or when the Lord reveals himself to Saul or even Moses encountering the burning bush.
And don’t take the easy road back to a past season; though it may sound better at the present moment, it was still a season of slavery. If you turn back now, you may very well miss out on the Promised Land God is preparing for you to enter.
