STUCK IN A MESS
By Dee Barker
“Then the LORD told me that we had spent enough time wandering about in those hills
and that we should go north” (Deuteronomy 2:2-3, GNT).
We all have gone through times in our lives where we felt stuck in, what feels like, one
mess right after the other. We get out of one mess, only to be met with three more
messes. Everything appears, in the natural, to be in total upheaval and unrest.
Can’t you just imagine that this is exactly how the people of Israel must have felt as they
wandered through the desert? It went from bad to worse for them, and there was no end
in sight.
Recently, I have been reading through the book of Exodus, and I’m always taken back
at how the children of Israel, after all God had done for them, found something to
complain about (we do the same thing today). He had delivered them from bondage, but
because of their stubborn ways and refusing to trust Him, what should have been a few
days turned into 40 years. That is a HUGE mess right there!
However, because we serve a God of second chances, He was getting ready to move
them out of the mess they had gotten themselves into. Before they crossover into the
Promise Land, Moses instructs the people to stop to look back over their shoulders; he
wants to ensure that what the Lord has done for them is forever etched in their minds.
Moses couldn’t help but remind them of the time that, because of their own choosing,
they were stuck circling the same mountain for far too long. God spoke and instructed
them it was time to go in a new direction (Deuteronomy 2:2-3).
At this point, they had a choice to make. They could either ignore the instruction of the
Lord and stay stuck in the same pattern, or they could trust His wisdom, follow His
directives, and step into what He had for them.
God told them to “go north.” As you read this devotional, I want to challenge you to ask
the Spirit of God if there is an area in your life where you need to “go north.” Have you
been finding yourself in the same cycles for years? Have you become exhausted from
being stuck in your yesterdays? Are you allowing your mess to define you, or refine
you?
Fortunately, the Israelites refused to stay stuck in their mess of aimlessly wandering in
the wilderness. They accepted the course correction given by the Lord and were able to
turn around and move toward all He had promised them. No longer did they allow their
messes to define them.
I don’t know what course correction the Spirit of the Lord may be speaking to your heart,
but I want to encourage you to be bold enough, and courageous enough, to take that
step of faith that will position you for the promise. As you follow His directives, He will
lead you into a glorious, and prosperous, place.
Dee Barker
