GOING FROM HERE TO THERE

They wanted to get out of Egypt where they were enslaved, beaten, and their children killed. It was spectacularly clear that they needed to leave HERE. Moses gave them a vision of THERE, a land flowing with milk, honey, and freedom. What they didn’t take into account was the desert. But the desert was necessary. There was no way to get to the Promised Land without the difficult path.

Going from HERE to THERE can be tough business. HERE is where you start out. It is the situation you want to get out of. You know it is intolerable and that you can no longer stay where you are. THERE is the promise of a new start, something better and fresh. It is the antithesis of the HERE you want to leave. But there is a problem. The only way from HERE to THERE is the journey in between. That was the situation the Israelites were in. They wanted to get out of Egypt where they were enslaved, beaten, and their children killed. It was spectacularly clear that they needed to leave HERE. Moses gave them a vision of THERE, a land flowing with milk, honey, and freedom. What they didn’t take into account was the desert. But the desert was necessary. There was no way to get to the Promised Land without the difficult path.

The same is true for us. We recognize that HERE - our lives without Christ, without grace, without the Holy Spirit’s help - is unacceptable. Jesus gives us a vision of THERE – an abundant life, living water to quench the thirst of our souls, and the work of the Holy Spirit which transforms our lives – and we trust Him to take us there. And, just like the Israelites, we find ourselves in the wilderness of difficult relationships, internal struggles, and times of powerlessness. Don’t let those things get you down. It is those very difficulties that help you learn grace and forgiveness. Surrender of yourself to God’s inner healing, and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit instead of yourself. What we learn in the desert prepares us for the Promised Land.

Lent is a time in which we recognize the difficulties of life and our perennial desire to take care of our own issues without God. I encourage you to take these 40 days to humbly trust God to fit you for the Kingdom in which life is abundant, relationships whole, and we experience inner peace. Embrace the journey as you move from HERE to THERE.