Jeremiah 32:21-23
You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror. And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey and they entered and took possession of it but they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them.

Have you been begging God for something? Did you not quite get what you expected, maybe it wasn’t quite what you had before or maybe it hasn’t turned out to be quite the position you thought you would get. Whatever the case may be, you aren’t quite satisfied with where you are or maybe how things seem to be turning out.

God blessed Israel with the “Promised Land”. Was it easy? No. Was it all they had dreamed it would be on every level? No, there were battles to fight and giants to face, and on top of all that, there were temptations. Remember David? He was anointed by Samuel to become King one day, but not only did it not happen overnight, but he faced overwhelming struggles along the way including King Saul trying to kill him over and over. Do you have something that you believe in your heart God has given you to do and you are exasperated because nothing seems to be working out right? You keep doing what you know you need to do and still, nothing is happening? It’s like all hell has come against you. Don’t quit! If your potential for doing something great wasn’t there then satan wouldn’t bother with you. Allow this “challenge” in life to make you stronger and better at what you need to do. Don’t allow him to defeat or discourage you ~ you are a child of the Most-High God and you just need to keep pressing into Him and what He has called you to. He will show up. How many times do we miss out on all He has for us because we give up when the going gets tough or we see other people succeeding while we are struggling and well let’s face it, sometimes life just doesn’t seem fair, but instead of allowing it to discourage you ask God what you need to learn and how is he using this struggle to make you better at what He is calling you to do? Every struggle in life is an opportunity to become better or you can feel sorry for yourself and give up. Ask God to show you what you need to learn, discipline yourself to have the balance He is calling you to in life. Honor Him in everything and remember Him in the challenges and the victories! He wants to have such a deep relationship with you that you won’t forget Him when you go into your “Promised Land”.

Often when God gives us something new; a new beginning, a second chance, a new ministry, a new job or opportunity, etc. it isn’t quite what we anticipated in the beginning. Trust Him! Don’t get down in the mouth and start complaining. See what you are facing as a challenge, a step leading you to the next level. You haven’t reached all that God has for you in your promised land yet but you will if you remain faithful and you follow His lead. Don’t rebel as the Israelites did. They became discontent and they allowed other gods in their lives and they allowed ungodly people to influence their decisions, they became complacent until God had to intervene and discipline them.

God loves us and His grace is always sufficient. Know that you can trust Him. Thankfully God is a God of mercy and He cares enough to deliver us when we seek Him with all our hearts, mind, and soul. God wants His best for you – first and foremost He wants you. He wants a relationship with you and He wants you to trust Him enough to follow Him through the good and the bad. He will lead you through even when you just can’t seem to find the way. Don’t allow satan to discourage you in what God is trying to do in your life. God has a great plan for you, it may not seem right now like what you thought it would be but if you will just follow Him and trust Him then you can know that truly His best is yet to come!

Quote: “Our greatest danger in life is in permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important.” Charles E. Hummel