SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 16:2-3 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
OBSERVATION:
Today marks the middle of this fast, but it also a time of in-between. Not where we were, yet not quite where we are going. In many ways, we as a church are in an in-between place – in our leadership and spiritual maturity, in our growth, in our effectiveness in the community. In the famous words of Bilbo Baggins, “It’s a dangerous business, [Kingdom Culture], going out your door.”
The Israelites found themselves in a similar predicament. God had miraculously freed them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, but they were not yet home. The found themselves in a wilderness, a desert of in-between. They were hangry and were starting to lose the plot. So in their frustration they did what so many of us do – they began to whine and complain and blame the leaders. Their complaints against Moses and Aaron revealed their hearts as they were really complaining against God.
God desires to bless us – to give us a hope and a future, but before every Promised Land, there’s a wilderness, an in-between place. Jesus was first filled with the Spirit, then led by the Spirit into… ministry? No. Miracles? No. He was led into the wilderness where He got alone with His flesh, the enemy, and God Himself. Only after all of that did He come out in the authority and power of the Spirit.
Luke 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit…
Many never walk in power or authority because they refuse to submit to God, to authority, to testing, or to discomfort.
APPLICATION:
1. Trust God that He knows what He’s doing even when you don’t.
2. Refuse to complain or grumble against others, your leadership, or your God.
3. Take the hunger pains as prayer reminders and practice recounting God’s goodness.
4. This, too, shall pass. We are headed toward our Promised Land.
5. Trust Him for your in-between and refuse to give up when it gets hard and painful.
If you do these things, expect the enemy to come after you, but after you defeat him in Jesus’ name, expect to move in a greater level of power and authority.
PRAYER:
Lord, I love You. I thank You for today. You are Holy and Your name is exalted above my own, my day, and my desires. Help me to submit to You in every season and give me the grace to endure suffering and trial in my in-between. Show me how much I grown and from where You have taken me. Show me where You are calling me to go and help me to grow as I journey there with You. I repent of any grumbling or complaining. I trust You. I thank You that You truly are good – even when I feel bad. Help me to have victory and faith in my wilderness, for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
WORSHIP: