Strategic God
If your 2018 looks anything like mine has, then you have probably had a few serious chats with God - comparing your timeline to His and wondering why things look absolutely the same or worse… Where is the promised growth? Where is the prophesied increase? Why does it seem like there are more obstacles? Why do I have to wait any longer? Sometimes it is easy to wonder if God has really gone ahead of you like He has said. The Holy spirit just highlighted a verse that has cut through all the questions and gotten me quiet (even if it is just for a while…hehe).
Context: In Exodus 23 the Lord makes a promise to the Israelites to send His presence ahead of them. Imagine God saying these words, “I will make all your enemies turn and run. I will send terror ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites.” How reassuring! I am sure they instantly felt invincible! But then there is a BUT (one eyebrow raised)… God doesn’t use BUT lightly, so when you see “BUT” used, press in closely and listen carefully:
“But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you. I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land.” - Exodus 23:28-30 NLT
Please pause and just meditate on how deliberate and beautifully strategic God is. Every carefully crafted plan was made for the benefit of the Israelites. Oh! And how amazing it is that the God of the universe would explain His ways. When God first promised that He would make their enemies turn and run, I am sure the Israelites had a completely different image of what victory would look like: enemies surely driven out in a single year, in fact, make that a month or less. They would have visualised instant invasion and possession of the land. BUT God had a different plan and His reasons are fascinating! If God had gotten rid of the enemies in a single year, the land would have quickly become bare and barren as the Israelite population did not have enough people to care for the land.
The enemies did the hard work so that the Israelites would simply enjoy the promises - the fruit of the land. The Holy Spirit highlighted a verse in Nehemiah 9:25 that demonstrates this: “Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance.” Would they have taken over this level of abundance if God hadn’t been strategic?!! It would have been easy for the people of God to forget His reasoning and start to complain and become jealous that the enemies had the best plots of land and flourishing gardens. BUT the seemingly slow “hand over” process was completely for their benefit.
God was moving things a little at a time, not because He wanted them to suffer, but because He wanted them to be ready to fully enjoy the blessing! He was preparing them to prosper! He was growing their capacity so that the promise wasn’t mishandled, and inevitably seem like a curse. It is amazing to think that God has a “because” and an “until” in our lives too. Is He growing our capacity in the waiting? Is He preparing us for the blessing - a blessing so large that if we are not ready, would weigh us down? Is every decision He is making for our benefit? Yes, yes, yes! Ask God to reveal His ways to you. Ask Him to give you a glimpse into His reasoning. You will be surprised that He has been there all along and has carefully and strategically crafted every step. Additionally, ask Him to expose any lies or delays of the enemy so that we know when to fight and when to rest in our strategic God.
Spot on👌🏾
