Lazaroo – Thursday, May 14, 2009
May 14, 2009 I Lazaroo.
“See, I have given you this land.”
(Deuteronomy 1:8)
What land have You given me, Jesus?
Where do You want me to go? What do You want me to do? Whom do You want me to serve – and how?
I beg You:
Show it to me.
Make it so clear, so plain, so obvious that I – even I! – can’t miss it.
Is it possible that I can’t see if from where I am now standing?
If so, make it crystal clear that You want me to move.
And when I hear Your unmistakable voice commanding: “Forward, March!”
I’ll start moving my feet.
No matter how rough the terrain, may my feet never stray from the narrow path that will take me there…
…..so that I will never have to experience the heartbreak of seeing it from far away…
…without going in.
_________
Ruth 1:14-17; Exodus 33:18; Job 6:24; Psalms 25:4; Psalms 39:4-7; Psalms 143:6-10; James 2:15-18; Numbers 20:12; Deuteronomy 3:23-29
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Steve Says:
Thank you for your gracious spirit, Ken. You are right, of course, in pointing out that the Israelites knew the destination of their ultimate Promised Land. As Christians, we too know our final destination is the new heaven and earth promised to us in 2nd Peter and Revelation 21.
But in this passage, I also saw something we could glean for use in our journey in the meantime, on this earth. By “the land” God has given us, I was referring to the assignments God has prepared in advance for each of us (Ephesians 2:10).
As one who is constantly seeking to clarify and understand more of the constant unveiling and unfolding of this assignment God has given me, it often feels as though my experience is analogous to what the Israelites had to do to claim the land God had promised them.
My guess is that like I, many Christians are still in the process of discovery, concerning this “land” of works God has assigned to them.
Just as the Israelites’ land had to be taken by force (and in God’s power), so our assignments will never be carried out if we passively wait for something to happen.
“…the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing,” said Jesus, “and forceful men lay hold of it.” (Matthew 11:12)
It is this land we must perceive and take hold of in God’s power during our few days on this earth…on the way to out land of ultimate Promise.
May 14, 2009, 10:11 pm