(I think this was written in 2016.)
Currently, I’m reading through the book of Exodus in the Bible. It’s been about how God freed his people, called the Israelites, (and sometimes these same people were also referred to as “Hebrews”) from the slave-ruling ‘hand’ of the Egyptians. Well, today I read in chapter twenty-three, and I came across a few verses that struck me in a way they haven’t before.
I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. (Exodus 23:27-30)
It dawned on me that not only did God promise to save his people from their enemies, but he also was very clever and intentional in how he went about doing so. If I was God, and I was making the path clear for my people, I’d just get rid of their burdensome enemies. I do not like processes, and I wouldn’t want to impose unnecessary processes on those whom I loved.Thankfully, I am not God. Thankfully, also, God is not striking me down dead right now for playing that hypothetical game… 🙂
See, God was more concerned not only with the immediate deliverance of his people, but he was also concerned with their overall redemption. God, in his wisdom, knew that the natural consequence of removing all of Israel’s enemies from the land at once would leave Israel vulnerable to wild beasts out in the open desert! God used Israel’s enemies…to protect Israel!!! God used ashes… And he made beauty out of them.
Likewise, I challenge you to trust that God knows what he is doing in YOUR life, too. He is still trustworthy today. He has your best interest in mind, crazy as that is to believe sometimes. But the means he uses to accomplish what’s for our best is sometimes so clever and intentional that we aren’t able to trace his finger’s markings. But we can always trust our Papa’s heart.
God may be allowing difficult circumstances or trials or people to remain in your life for (what seems to be) far longer than necessary. Just realize that God may be allowing those very things you despise to bring the good into your life he’s promised you. Maybe he values you so much that he’s willing to watch you endure temporary pain because he knows he’s also cultivatinginside of you a beautiful character—filled with patience and compassion that’d never have been cultivated, if not for your trial.
God is so kind. He is so trustworthy. And he is so clever and intentional. Won’t you tell him your fears and frustrations right now? Will you allow yourself to be utterly vulnerable with him as you’re walking through your desert? Tell him now what’s on your heart, and he can handle you as you are. No masks are necessary. Just be still and honest. I promise you that if you open up to God, he will pour out his loving embrace upon you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you… (James 4:8a)
