"I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
~Exidus 3:17
The children of Israel had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years when God recruited Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh. God had a better place for them, a place "flowing with milk and honey," in other words, a place filled with everything they would ever need. All they had to do was follow Moses across the desert for about 200 miles and enter into the place God prepared for them. So why did they spend 40 years wandering around that desert instead?
My life path feels a lot like the one the children of Israel took across the desert. A couple of steps in the right direction, the a few more back. A few steps to the right, a few steps back. Spin in a circle until you fall down, wallow for a while, crawl away until you can stand. Take a few steps in the right direction, then do it all over again. Sound familiar?
God has a path for us to follow that leads to the Promised Land, so why do we find it so difficult to stay on that path? Why do we insist on doing things our own way, no matter how much pain it causes? As God said, "They are a stubborn people." (Exodus 32:9)
When I look back at the path I've taken I see all the trouble and and heartache I could've avoided. While some of what happened was beyond my control, there was a great deal that I can blame only on one person -- myself. I was stubborn and willful and refused to heed advice, and I ignored common sense.
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid (Proverbs 12:1)."
Umm.... Yes. Yes, I was. Extremely stupid!
The path I took to get to where I am now was long and exhausting, however, I am here now. I have arrived at the place God wanted me to be all along, and that is the important part. We have to remember that, especially when we are looking back over the rocky road of our journey. Yes, we could've done things differently that would've saved heartache but hindsight doesn't change a thing. We did what we did but we are still where we are supposed to be. If we are now living the life God wants for us, we can't berate ourselves the path that got us there. We can take those experiences and use them for the glory of God, knowing that no matter what was intended to harm us is being used for good. (Romans 8:28)
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)."
Read
Exodus 19-21
A Year of Blessings by Marie McGaha
©2018
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6)."
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