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The children of Israel were in bondage for over 400 years.\u00a0 They labored and toiled to build treasure cities for the Egyptians.\u00a0 The funny thing about this type of bondage is that it can be excepted as the \u201cnorm.\u201d\u00a0 If in a situation long enough, no matter how bad it is, it will eventually will consider it to be normal.<\/p>\n
This was the case with Israel.\u00a0 God had awesome plans for them.\u00a0 He made a promise to Abraham that He HAD to fulfill.\u00a0 That promise was a Good Land for Abraham\u2019s seed.\u00a0 Therefore, God sent Moses as a deliverer to rescue Israel from the \u201chouse of bondage\u201d and take them to the promised land, a land flowing with milk honey, an abundant land.<\/p>\n
The initial deliverance was dramatic.\u00a0 It took ten plagues to break the spirit of Pharaoh and get him to acquiesce to release Israel.\u00a0 Eventually Israel was released with riches beyond measure.\u00a0 It was a truly amazing scene.\u00a0 What joy! What exuberance there must have been.\u00a0 They were finally released from bondage and taking massive riches with them.\u00a0 God heard their cries and it was good.<\/p>\n
They were physically released from bondage, but inwardly they were still bound.\u00a0 After all those years in bondage they had minds that needed to be transformed.\u00a0 They had to learn to live by faith.\u00a0 They had to learn that they no longer had to toil and labor to survive.\u00a0 God had to renew their minds to stop thinking like slaves and start thinking like sons.\u00a0 They had to learn to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.<\/p>\n
To change a physical position is easy compared to changing the way a person thinks.\u00a0 God is wise, so He lead them through a wilderness to teach them not to live the way they were accustomed to living.\u00a0 They had to learn to live by God as their source.\u00a0 More specifically, by God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 In other words, their minds needed to be transformed.<\/p>\n
In the wilderness, there was no food.\u00a0 Yet, they saw God supernaturally provide manna from heaven.\u00a0 They saw God supernaturally provide water from a rock and that rock followed them the entire journey!\u00a0 They saw God provide for them again and again.\u00a0 Yet, their mental training in Egypt was so strong they wanted to go back.\u00a0 A life in bondage was predictable and safe.\u00a0 The life of faith made them feel uneasy and out of control.\u00a0 Because of their stubbornness, God had to keep them in the wilderness until their unbelief died out and faith took over.\u00a0 They needed courage to enter the Good Land and take possession of it.\u00a0 This courage could only come by faith.<\/p>\n
It is no different for us today.\u00a0 Every human being is born in bondage.\u00a0 We are born to fight and struggle for survival.\u00a0 We were born slaves to sin.\u00a0 Then one day the light of glory of the gospel of Christ appeared to us and delivered us from that bondage.\u00a0 We went from the status of a slave of sin to a son or daughter of God.\u00a0 Though our position changed our disposition needed to be change. \u00a0This change could only take place by renewing our minds through the living Word of God.\u00a0 Thus, our wilderness journey began.\u00a0 In the wilderness, God trains us not to live by sight.\u00a0 He trains us not to live according to our five natural senses.\u00a0 Rather He is training us to live by faith.\u00a0 He wants us to depend on and trust Him in everything and in every way.\u00a0 He wants us to learn to live by His Word, a word that will guide us to our \u201cGood Land\u201d where we will enjoy a successful and abundant life.\u00a0 The natural mind will not get us there.\u00a0 Only a renewed mind will suffice.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s wilderness journey was 40 years.\u00a0 However, it could have been much shorter. Because of their stubbornness, murmuring, and complaining the journey lasted way longer than God intended.\u00a0 They looked to another god to take them back to slavery (a golden calf); a perverse place of safety and security.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t trust the true God, even though they saw and experienced miracle after miracle. \u00a0They were stiff-necked and hard hearted.\u00a0 The did not listen for receive God\u2019s Word and live by it as their source and power.<\/p>\n
How about us?\u00a0 Are we any better?\u00a0 Have we reached our \u201cGood Land?\u201d\u00a0 Are we living in a place of abundance?\u00a0 If we are not living the good life, a life of abundance and joy, we must face the truth; we are still in the wilderness and it\u2019s time to get out and enter OUR Good Land!\u00a0 It\u2019s time to take God at His Word, trust Him, and obey what He says.\u00a0 Obedience is not for God, it\u2019s for us.\u00a0 Obeying God\u2019s speaking is His way of getting us from where we are to where we are destined to be.<\/p>\n
We all have a portion in the Good Land.\u00a0 We all have a purpose and destiny.\u00a0 We all have territory to take.\u00a0 However, there are enemies in the territory God has allotted to us.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we need the wilderness; to prepare us to live by faith and TAKE what is ours by faith.\u00a0 Enemies occupy our Good Land and they need to be routed out and the only way that can be done is by faith in God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 God\u2019s Word infuses us with faith AND courage to take what is ours in Christ.\u00a0 Our assignment may have its genesis in the spiritual realm, but it needs to be carried out in the physical realm.\u00a0 The Good Land God has allotted us is on earth and it is physical.\u00a0 It may be a business.\u00a0 It may be writing books.\u00a0 It may be full-time ministry.\u00a0 Your Good Land could be myriads of things.\u00a0 That is something you will have to discover with God.\u00a0 Just know, that whatever your Good Land is, it will produce abundance in your life.\u00a0 It will be rich and produce many riches in many ways.\u00a0 That is the nature of the Good Land.\u00a0 It\u2019s a Land flowing with riches beyond measure and it\u2019s yours to discover, fight for, and inhabit.<\/p>\n
So, the question is:\u00a0 How long will you stay in the wilderness.\u00a0 How long will it take for God to convince you that He is faithful and true.\u00a0 How long will it take for you to trust God and His Word explicitly.\u00a0 How long will it take to flush doubt out of your old un-renewed mind and be transformed in your thinking?\u00a0 How long will it take to possess the mind of Christ?\u00a0 The answer to these questions will determine the length of time you will spend wondering around in your life, unfulfilled and seemly lost.\u00a0 The wilderness is not the final place of our occupation.\u00a0 It is only a training ground for God to prepare us for the wonders of His goodness.<\/p>\n
The wilderness is necessary, but only for a time.\u00a0 The shorter the better.\u00a0 Don\u2019t think you must stay there.\u00a0 Seek the Lord.\u00a0 Get into His Word.\u00a0 Develop a life of pure faith just like Abraham did.\u00a0 Go where He leads you.\u00a0 Do what He instructs you and immerse yourself in His solid, trustworthy Word.\u00a0 Before you know it, you will face your Jordan River with confidence and boldness ready to take possession of the Good Land God has promised to give you.<\/p>\n
I have been wondering in the wilderness for over 40 years.\u00a0 It\u2019s sad, but it\u2019s my case.\u00a0 I admit it and have learned and am learning to take territory in the Good Land.\u00a0 I have a portion there.\u00a0 I have faced my fears and have crossed over.\u00a0 I am taking possession of my portion of this Land.\u00a0 Will you join me?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We all have a portion in the Good Land. We all have a purpose and destiny. We all have territory to take. However, there are enemies in the territory God has allotted to us. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,202],"tags":[288,283,282,281,206,286,284,287,285],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sendoutyourroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16033"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sendoutyourroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sendoutyourroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sendoutyourroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sendoutyourroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sendoutyourroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sendoutyourroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sendoutyourroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sendoutyourroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sendoutyourroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}