Navigating Life's Wilderness: The Journey Between Miracles
Joshua 24:7
And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
“…and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.” Are you between miracles right now? Think about it. The miracle of the Red Sea crossing landed Israel right into the wilderness. Although the original plan was not for their journey through the wilderness to be 40 long years, they still had to go through it. Our journey is not going to be void of “in between miracle” moments. You know the story. The next significant move forward for Israel after the Red Sea crossing was the crossing of the River Jordan into the Promised Land. But it was between those two miracles that they existed in the wilderness a long season.
Let’s talk about that long season for a moment. It is in those kinds of wilderness seasons in our lives that our faith is put to the test the most. In fact, the longer the season, the tougher the faith test. The longer you go between miracles, the more tempted you may be of questioning whether or not you took a wrong turn. Questions loom that cause you to doubt whether or not God is even with you in your journey anymore. Questions like, “Has God forsaken me?” or “Where did I go wrong?” or “Why must I go through this?” or “When will this ever end?” Sound familiar? If so, you are not alone.
Remember this, after every miracle and after every deliverance, whether it just happened yesterday, or 40 years ago, is a season with an undetermined expiration date before your next miracle. We like to define our life from one mountain peak to the next, describing the miracles, and pretending as if we live on the mountain top at all times, but the truth remains that we actually spend most of our time between miracles, rather than in the miracles. Miracles are important; they change our destiny. They set us in the right direction. They give us vision, hope, and purpose. But they are meant to be milestones, and not dwelling places. We move on. God does indeed have more for us ahead, but we must not fall out by the way. We must not lose heart. We must not faint. We must press on. Do what you can to avoid pitfalls, delays, and detours, because God knows we don’t want to spend any more time in the wilderness than we must, but know assuredly that the only reason you are even in the wilderness to start with is because your last deliverance set you on your course, so be encouraged that you are still in God’s hand, still moving on!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
“…and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.” Are you between miracles right now? Think about it. The miracle of the Red Sea crossing landed Israel right into the wilderness. Although the original plan was not for their journey through the wilderness to be 40 long years, they still had to go through it. Our journey is not going to be void of “in between miracle” moments. You know the story. The next significant move forward for Israel after the Red Sea crossing was the crossing of the River Jordan into the Promised Land. But it was between those two miracles that they existed in the wilderness a long season.
Let’s talk about that long season for a moment. It is in those kinds of wilderness seasons in our lives that our faith is put to the test the most. In fact, the longer the season, the tougher the faith test. The longer you go between miracles, the more tempted you may be of questioning whether or not you took a wrong turn. Questions loom that cause you to doubt whether or not God is even with you in your journey anymore. Questions like, “Has God forsaken me?” or “Where did I go wrong?” or “Why must I go through this?” or “When will this ever end?” Sound familiar? If so, you are not alone.
Remember this, after every miracle and after every deliverance, whether it just happened yesterday, or 40 years ago, is a season with an undetermined expiration date before your next miracle. We like to define our life from one mountain peak to the next, describing the miracles, and pretending as if we live on the mountain top at all times, but the truth remains that we actually spend most of our time between miracles, rather than in the miracles. Miracles are important; they change our destiny. They set us in the right direction. They give us vision, hope, and purpose. But they are meant to be milestones, and not dwelling places. We move on. God does indeed have more for us ahead, but we must not fall out by the way. We must not lose heart. We must not faint. We must press on. Do what you can to avoid pitfalls, delays, and detours, because God knows we don’t want to spend any more time in the wilderness than we must, but know assuredly that the only reason you are even in the wilderness to start with is because your last deliverance set you on your course, so be encouraged that you are still in God’s hand, still moving on!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill