Little by Little

Sometimes I wish I had a magic wand that I could wave and certain issues would just disappear! You know the ones I mean? Those nagging problems that you have been praying about and waiting for God to just do away with. Or even those complicated situations that have so many levels and layers to them that it seems like God is doing a bunch of little surgeries instead of one big amputation. I posed this question to God recently and He sent me a word through bible study that has been blessing me ever since. Are you ready? Here goes..."I'm doing it little by little." Ummmmm...what? That doesn't fit the microwave society model that you and I operate in! Think about it...don't you want things done right away? And often you want it regardless of the cost or the consequence whether you want to admit or not. But God showed me in the Word that His way is intentional and beneficial. So here's the question, are you willing to wait on your victory even if God does it little by little?

God kept me in Exodus 23 for days. This chapter talks about the civil laws, ceremonial/Sabbath laws, and promises that God made to the Israelites after the covenant laws were handed down. One particular section stood out to me and is the basis for this whole chapter.  “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land." (Ex.23:27-30 NIV) Okay, read that again, if you have to! God was promising the Israelites that He would take care of every enemy they had but it would be done little by little so that they would be prepared to take possession of the Promised Land. I started thinking about those pesky issues of mine again and I heard God speaking. He will take care of every issue, every situation, every enemy but He is timing it so that you won't be caught unaware. Could it be that God hasn't removed that situation because it would leave you exposed to another issue? He is preparing you for the next level but He knows not to rush you through the process.

I love that last line, don't you?! "Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land." Not only is God strategically working on your issues, He is waiting for you to be increased enough to handle the breakthrough. Woooo! God gave me a great example. Think about the stages of grief. There are so many layers that you have to go through to get to complete healing. First there is shock/denial, then pain/guilt, followed by anger/bargaining, depression/loneliness, reconstruction, and finally acceptance. God could come in and immediately take it all away but when you are allowed the space and the time to get fully healed, you can recognize the victory. God wants to increase you while He is working. He doesn't want halfway healed people or people that are faking their way through. No! He wants to get you to wholeness and sometimes the only way to get you to breakthrough is to take you little by little.

Don't be distressed if your process is taking longer than you imagined it would take. There is victory in going through the process and even more so if you allow God to do it in His timing. God is the master strategist and nothing you are experiencing is outside of His realm of expertise. He is moving those enemies out the way in such a way that nothing overtakes you, all while increasing your power, your anointing and your ability to possess the land! Little by little...

Amen