Courage to shift

God has been talking to me lately about following His instructions, no matter how it may look to me. You see, I have the type of mind that immediately starts thinking of the consequences and effects of any instruction or decision. So you can just imagine how much God has to work with me on a daily basis! It can be difficult to see yourself the way God sees you. I mean, He sees you in completion, where you see a work in progress. He sees you in purpose, while you see a journey to finding yourself. He sees you leading and you are comfortable following. It's amazing to me when God gives me an assignment that I cannot possibly imagine myself completing but I accept, He gives me what I need to complete it. Today, God is challenging you to trust Him at His word. He is challenging you to accept what He is calling you to do without doubt. He is challenging you to stop putting yourself and Him in a box and go forward. It's time to be courageous and change your direction.

God took me to Deuteronomy 2:1-3 today and it completely blew my mind. You see, I studied this book pretty extensively last year but just missed this entirely. But when God talked to me about changing my focus from my limitations to His power, He took me straight back to it. It reads, “Then we turned around and headed back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea, just as the LORD had instructed me, and we wandered around in the region of Mount Seir for a long time. “Then at last the LORD said to me, ‘You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north.” (NLT) God had me to read it in 3 or 4 different translations and then He said to me, ‘Do you see what can happen between my instruction and your obedience?’ Ummmmm…what? Imagine my face! So let me give you a little background. Moses is recapping Israel’s journey and reminding them of why they ended up in the wilderness and why the older generation would not see the Promised Land. He basically sums it up to the people’s rebellion and disobedience. So as I re-read these three verses, the Lord showed me 3 things that He wanted me to share with you.

First, the people were going in the wrong direction and had to turn around. You see, at the end of Deuteronomy 1, Moses reminds the people of how God told them to go through the wilderness towards the Red Sea but they thought it better to go through the hill country and fight the Amorites instead on their own and they lost badly. So after crying before the Lord, they decided to go God’s way instead. Sometimes, the other way looks better, right? It looks quicker and it looks manageable, whereas God’s way looks filled with challenges and time. But can I tell you that when you go the other way, you never win. You always have to double back and do what God has said so you might as well start there. So, the first thing is, if God gave you an instruction and you chose your way, turn around now.

God then pointed out to me that when they shifted gears and headed in the direction that God wanted them to go, they encountered the wilderness along the way. Could it be that even when God tells you to do something, there will still be challenges to face? The old saints used to sing, “Nobody told me  the road would be easy but I don't believe He brought me this far to leave me.” It’s true! The wilderness is no fun! Sometimes, God will separate you and have you in a place where it's just you and the “stuff” that He is working out of you. Notice, that they wandered around in that place for a long time and God was silent...but they stayed there until He spoke. I know that this place is difficult but God is getting ready to take you somewhere. So the second thing is to stay where He sends you until He tells you to move.

This is hard stuff, y’all! It's so much easier to do feel good posts but God is growing you and me to our next place. He wants you to know that He is with you and that you have the courage to change your focus and direction. So the last thing He pointed out to me made me shout! “Then at last the LORD said to me, ‘You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north.” (Deut. 2:3) Another version says, you have gone around this mountain long enough! There comes a point where God pulls you out of the wilderness, out of the pruning, out of the struggle and says, it’s time to go the next level. He made a point of letting them know that He was there the whole time. He saw them in the wilderness and timed the experience. Once they had seen and gone through what He needed them to, He directed them north! Up! So the last thing is, stop wandering around that mountain and move forward.

Obeying God is not going to be easy all of the time. There will be challenges and times of pruning and refining but God is right there. When the Israelites tried to do it their way, they failed. But when they let God lead them, they ended up going north. They ended up on His track and His plan. Do you have the courage today to shift your focus and change your direction? Do you have the strength to trust the plan that God has for your life? I promise that if you do, you will begin to see yourself the way He sees you and you will find yourself on the way to your promised land!