Your Promised Land

Do you think that because you are a child of God and you know Jesus Christ, the enemy will roll the red carpet under your feet so that you would accomplish what you are destined for? Oh, no, the Promised Land has its share of battles before entering but with God, you are indeed the winner! See more!Preoccupied with our new orchestra, I asked God for a safe&successful trip and concert in Budapest where we were expected last December. I dearly prayed about this expecting that everything will be ok as God had opened this door for us, so, I confidently prayed. God’s answer was however a little more different than what I expected and God showed me that there will be quite a big share of suffering and pain (spiritually speaking) but followed by a great blessing!

"Well, well," I said to myself, "I am tired of suffering, I don’t want any more pain and we will do just fine even without going to Budapest for the concert, no, no, we are not going anywhere, I am tired of pain". Yes, well this is what I thought; however God, in His goodness spoke to me trough one article I read the next morning -it was a sort meditation about entering the promised land. The Israeli people were about to enter their promised land but got scared at the site of those giants (this occurred because from the total of 12 men who were sent to search and see the land, only 2- Joshua and Caleb- reported that they can conquer it and all the other 10 said that there is no way to pass those giants). The question of that article was :" Are you also afraid of the giants in your life? Who’s report do you believe, yours or God’s?"

These questions made me realize that I have just given up the battle in my mind, before it even started! I was so blinded by my fear of giants that I gave up the blessing I was promised!

I did change my mind and I thought "the promised land is worth the effort and the suffering" so I continued with our plans. Indeed as God told me, there was a share of suffering in my life trough some people but God was with me and God gave me so much joy that I didn’t even have time to feel that pain as one would normally expect! The concert turned out to be indeed a great blessing, from all points of view and I came back with more confidence that indeed fighting for the promised land is worth it! God filled my heart with joy, love and peace to such extent that I had to redefine these concepts, I tasted them in a new refreshed and abundant way as I have not experienced before!

I wrote this example because I know that we all have moments when we just want to give up because we are tired of suffering, tired of being rejected; yet, once more, to enter the promise land there is always a battle!

The great news however is that regardless of how fierce the battle may seem, it is surely not more than we can handle together with God of course! God is faithful, He will not allow a battle to destroy you, but on the contrary, it will widen your spiritual eyesight and you'll see that it is worthwhile and in the end, when you taste the sweet victory, you will not even remember the pain!

What’s more, when pain stings, the Holy Spirit of God is a great Comforter and He will give you relief, He will protect you under His wings so that you would not fear a thing! He is the One who will bring the healing your soul/body/mind needs!

Yes, God’s promised land for you is worth fighting for! It could be a new spiritual level God wants to bring you to, or a new job, or a new ministry, or a new relationship. Don’t be afraid of the battle because God is fighting for you! All you have to do is to stand by Him, to stand by the truth and let the rest in His Hands. Don’t give up on great blessings just because of fear! Fear is a lie and God did not give us a spirit of fear, God wants us bold, confident and wise, conquering as He did with His powerful weapons that are: truth and love.

It is indeed a mistake to believe (as I used to) that when there is a smooth way and you don’t have to fight to achieve your God given dreams, it means this is the right way, the "red carpet" waiting for you to step on. No, no! Although it might be like that at times, it is usually by winning battle after battle that we end up where God wants us to be.

Giving up is not a solution unless God told you to. That’s why, hold on, fight the good fight of faith, don’t give up and regardless of the magnitude you think the situation has, always keep in mind that: (1) God is fighting your battle, (2) the battle it is worth it because the blessing that follows is immense and (3) you will be stronger, ready for even greater blessings (and should I add, greater battles too) !

Always, but each single time, it is worth it! Remember that and ask for patience if you run out of it, ask for strength and wisdom and "God will make a way, where there seems to be no way, He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me…for all who ask Him to!"
By Claudia Miclaus
Published: 1/22/2010