Sunday, August 14, 2011

Don't pollute your promised land

This is a subject I've been thinking on quite a bit recently. When God called the Israelites out of Egypt, He could have just taken them straight to their inheritance, the promised land. Instead, He lead them into the desert for 40 years, even though it was only an 11 day journey from Egypt to the promised land.

Howcome? Why didn't God just take them straight there?

I believe that although the Israelites had come out of Egypt, God provided the 40 years in the wilderness in order to take Egypt out of them. Egypt was a land of slavery for the Israelite people, where they were oppressed and mistreated - however it was still a land of plenty. Many of the Israelites were often heard complaining about the wilderness and how they had things far better back in Egypt - despite the fact that it was a land of slavery. They were yearning to go back to an oppressive land in order to fulfill their own desires.

Though their location had changed - the land of slavery was now behind them - their hearts had been corrupted by that environment, and the corruption in their hearts was exactly why God lead them through the wilderness. So that they would come face to face with the darkness within themselves and rid themselves of it, so that they could enjoy the promised land to its fullest potential when they were ready to take it. Most of the Israelites failed miserably in this regard and did not approach their time in the wilderness as God wanted them to - which meant that out of the millions that left Egypt, only two of them entered the promised land. Two!!

This piece of scripture is incredibly relevant to mankind nowadays. Think about it - what drives us forward each day? We are all searching for our own individual promised land, those dreams which we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts, our hopes for the future. The promised land can look different to each of us - for some, it may be a relationship, others a dream job, etc etc.

So the question must be asked - what are we doing to prepare ourselves for the dreams we wish to have fulfilled in our lives?

I believe God did not allow most of the Israelites into the promised land because they still carried Egypt within them. If He had allowed them in, they would have polluted the land which they wished for so much with their own darkness, and that which was meant to be a blessing would have become a curse and a burden to them, all because of their own doing. They would have once again started searching for the promised land - even though they were already there and only wanted out because of something they could not face within themselves.

It is much the same with us. If we refuse to take the road less travelled through the wilderness and refuse to face the darkest depths of ourselves in those hard times of preparation, once we do eventually reach our promised land, it will become nothing but another Egypt to us. The guy who waited his whole life to get married and refused to deal with his issues to prepare himself for it? His dream will become a nightmare. Because he did not prepare himself properly and spent his time in the wilderness complaining about not being back in Egypt, or not being at the promised land yet, rather than approaching the wilderness the way God intends us to - facing ourselves and working out our darkest issues.

If you are facing the wilderness in your life today, instead of placing all your hopes on the promised land, perhaps ask God and yourself what you can be dealing with and changing in your life to prepare yourself properly for what it is that you are hoping for. Don't be afraid to face the darkest parts of yourself - for if you don't, they will lurk under the surface and ruin your promised land for you once it does arrive.

Take care and God bless.

1 comment:

  1. Very good. Also, the 40 years wasn't God's original plan, he punished them for their unfaithfulness. (The twelve spies sent out). But a legend thought. Relevant as :)

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