Where is God Taking You?
My oldest Aly has been taking care of this flower for about 3 weeks now. She first had it in a cup in her room. She watered it each day and made sure it had enough light. She then transplanted it into our flower bed, carefully digging the hole and then covering it with pine straw. But over time this poor flower has started to die. And Aly really doesn’t understand why this thing she has labored over is not surviving. To make matters worse, there are a few wildflowers that popped up around it…. Flowers she didn’t take care of.
I attempted to be super spiritual in my explanation that God had a plan for this flower and sometimes we need to sit back and let Him work instead of trying to do it all ourselves. She kind of looked at me like….this is weird mom. And then I realized this lesson wasn’t for her…. It was for me.
I have recently taken a deep dive into Deuteronomy. And it is quickly becoming one of my favorite books of the Bible. Most of this book is a reminder of the law and covenant God made with the Israelites. God continually reminds them about their blessings, the promised land of inheritance, and how to follow His commands.
The other day I came across this verse and it stopped me in my tracks.
“For the land you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated by hand as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are entering to possess is a land of mountains and valleys, watered by rain from the sky. It is a land the Lord your God cared for. He is always watching over it from the beginning to the end of the year.” Deuteronomy 11:10-12
Have you ever asked God, “Where are you taking me? What are you doing with my life? Why must I wait Lord?”
If you have asked any of these questions recently, maybe you find yourself in a cross roads. Or maybe you have been surprised by circumstances and wonder what God is stirring up? Or maybe you are tired and need a place to rest spiritually, mentally, and physically. Me? I have a vision for the future, but the path is not there…. So I ask all the time…."God what are you doing here? Where are you taking me?”
I’m going to encourage you through this scripture today.
Where is God taking you?
He is taking you to already sowed soil.
He took the Israelites out of Egypt, a land of labor and slavery, and into rest. He wishes to do the same for us. There are some things we are meant to sow, irrigate, and care for (my children come to mind). But then there are things God wants to provide for us. He will irrigate it with rain. He will provide the seed already sowed. God will do the labor. I can see God shaking His head and saying “Amanda quit trying to sow your own seeds. I will do that.” Where are you tempted to sow the soil or irrigate the land that God is already working on?
He is taking you a place God has “cared for.”
He has been building this place, this circumstance, this idea for you for a long time. If you are asking the questions, then rest in the fact that He is building it for you. He is caring for it and at the perfect and ripe time, the land will be ready for you to enter. He cares about your questions, your path, and the place or circumstance He is preparing for you. Your questions are welcome in His presence and they don’t fall on deaf ears. He started caring for the place long before we even asked the question. I encourage you to have faith in God caring for you and your future. He provides strength for us, and the source of that strength is trust (Isaiah 40:31).
He is taking you to a place that has been carefully watched over specifically for you.
God is so specific. He is not a one size fits all type of God. It’s one of His unique characteristics. He is watching over you and all future situations as He prepares it for you. And he will continue to watch over it - day and night, beginning to end.
All of this gives me so much peace. And that was the purpose of these scriptures. Moses gave these words to the Israelites as they were preparing to enter the promised land. He is reminding them of how even in the wilderness, God was carefully watching over the land, caring for it, sending rain, enriching the soil, sowing the seeds for them. It was all in preparation for them to enter and rest and enjoy at the perfect time.
I also don’t want to mislead you into thinking that everything is going to work out just like you envision it. It’s probably not… because our vision and what we see is so limited compared to what God sees.
So many times I’ve had a plan. Watched it fail. And then realized He had a plan. As I watched His plan unfold, I recognized His way was better…. Better than what I could have imagined. So that’s what I choose to hold on to. I am not all-knowing, but I know enough about our God to know that His ways are better than mine.
May this be a reminder to you in whatever cross roads or wilderness journey you feel you are on. God is caring for, watching over, sowing, and laboring ….. He is preparing the place He is sending you and has been from beginning to end.
