Wednesday Words of Encouragement: On Your Way

I had an all day meeting yesterday at our district office.  It was a wonderful day of encouragement with fellow ministry leaders and pastors, as we had some training on different aspects of the ministry. We ate lunch together, talked and laughed.  

After the meeting, I stayed and met with my mentor and another friend who quizzed me on some of my consecration questions. I appreciate this time I can meet with her to go over the questions and solidify my answers each month before my future exam. 

Then we went out to dinner with other friends and it was a fun few hours, chatting, swapping stories and laughing.  It was one of those days that I wish didn't have to end. In fact, when my friend offered to let me spend the night I was so tempted. But I knew I had things to do here so I reluctantly headed home.  I didn't want to come back to my reality. Not because I don't like it here, but because I was enjoying my mountaintop experience.

It reminded me of the other day when I read the following passage:

Deuteronomy 1:6-8 (HCSB) ~

“The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb: ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites and their neighbors in the Arabah, the hill country, the Judean foothills, the Negev and the sea coast—to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon as far as the Euphrates River. See, I have set the land before you. Enter and take possession of the land the Lord swore to give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their future descendants.’"

Horeb was called the Mountain of God and Mt. Sinai.  It was there that Moses received the ten commandments and there that the Lord spoke to him. I'm sure it was a sweet place of communion and rest. It was a place that was lush and plentiful. But the time had come to come off the mountain and start their journey.  They needed to get moving and God tells them, "On your way!" "Start moving."

It's hard to start moving when we've had those mountaintop experiences. The Israelites journey was going to be difficult.  This passage lays out the path they took, and mentions the Negev which was an arid, difficult land. They would be hungry, thirsty and tired and yet, they knew what lay at the end of the journey. The promised land was coming.

We too, have those mountaintop experiences with God and they help to get us through the desert places in our lives. In those moments of sweet fellowship and rest, we hear from Him and He ministers to us so that we can keep moving forward. We can't stay on the mountain indefinitely.

We have a long journey ahead that will go through some rough, dangerous places. But at the end of our journey we'll be in the promised land.  Soak up those mountain top experiences when they come because they are refreshing, but then get up and get on your way.

There is a promised land ahead!