It's Been Long Enough...

During my personal Bible study some time ago, the Lord led me to Deuteronomy 1:6-8.  It says this:

“The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.”

As I meditated on this passage of scripture and the Lord began to speak to me concerning it, I knew I had to share this message with my sisters who have found themselves stuck in some area of their lives.  There are four words I believe the Lord wants me to tell you: 

It’s been long enough.

I know what it’s like to feel bound by your issues and to continue circling the same mountain day after day,  month after month, and year after year.  Since, by the grace of God, I have conquered and overcome many mountains in my life, my desire is to encourage and inspire you to do the same.   My prayer is that you will realize that you have dwelt long enough in your barren place, and it’s time to get up, go in, and possess the land that the Lord has promised to you.  I don’t know what your mountain is.  It could be depression, sickness, fear, poverty, or addictions, but the Lord is saying that it’s time to take hold of what is rightfully yours: healing, deliverance, peace, abundance, freedom, purpose.  

It’s so easy to become comfortable with being uncomfortable when discomfort seems to be your norm.  But that’s a trick of the enemy.  That’s just one of the ways he tries to keep us bound and hinder us from being, and possessing, all that God has destined for us.  But as I often like to say, the devil is a liar.  He kept me going in circles for a long time, but once I grabbed hold to the Word of love of God and clothed myself in His armor, I got a little fight in me and chose to take back all that the devil had stolen from me, or hindered me from. 

It had been long enough.

Taken from the above scripture passage, there are four actions you must take in order to move towards overcoming the mountains in your life:  Turn, take your journey, go in, and possess the land.

1. Turn – If you’ve followed this column for any length of time, then you know I believe that change must first take place in the mind.  In order to turn or shift from where you are to where you desire to be, you must first be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).  As your mind transforms, it will help you not to focus so much on the problem (mountain), but rather the solution (promised land). 

2. Take your journey – I believe that the problem with a lot of us is that we are afraid of the journey.  We are scared of what we will have to face as we transition from one place to the next.  Transition is never easy.  It often causes us to have to deal with deep pain or ugly truths, and to separate ourselves from things or people that aid in us being stuck where we are.  It’s definitely hard, but the key to being free from the things that have us bound is facing the truth, and knowing when to let go and/or walk away.  It’s important that we embrace the journey, because along the way it builds our strength, and strength is a vital factor when it comes to possessing what God has in store for us.  It won’t be a cakewalk, but embrace the journey.  It brings you that much closer to walking into your promised land.

3. Go In – Now, before you go in and possess your land, I think it’s important that you take some time and go in your prayer closet and dig into the Word of God.  Prayer strengthens us, and the Word of God shields us (Ephesians 6:11-18).  There is no way we can go against the enemy without God.  Our words and our own strength will keep us defeated, but when we clothe ourselves in the Word of God, and strengthen ourselves through prayer, we have the perfect ammunition to fight against the enemy.  We’ve got to have our war clothes on.

4. Possess the Land – “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12)  It’s as simple as that – you’ve got to take it by force.  First you’ve got to want it, and when you want it bad enough, you’ll get mad enough to snatch everything God has for you right out of the enemy’s hand.  Sure, he’s going to fight you, but that’s okay because you have power over the enemy. (Luke 10:19)  Take what belongs to you!

Declare today that it’s been long enough, and make up in your mind that you will no longer dwell at your mountain and allow it to keep you from what God has for you.  Resolve in your heart that this is the year, the month, the day, the hour that the cycle of circling ends.  There is such abundant life in the reaches for you.  You don’t have to continue to sit back and watch everyone else walk into their promised land while you’re stuck in the same place. 

As Jesus said to the man at the pool of Bethesda, Will thou be made whole? Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

 It’s been long enough; possess your land.