March Out of the Desert

  The book of Exodus in the Bible gives the account of the nation of Israel leaving Egypt and setting out on the journey to the Promise Land, a land God had set aside for them to claim as their own.  The journey from Egypt to the Promise Land is believed to have been a walking journey of about 11 to 14 days, yet the Israelites took over forty years to complete it.  In fact, with the exception of three men, not a single Israelite who left Egypt as an adult lived to see the Promise Land.  They all died in the desert.  This story seems tragic, and it is, but the most devastating part of it all is that the reason the Israelites did not complete their journey in the time it should have been completed, or even within their lifetime was that they were unwilling to follow what they knew God was calling them to do.
  We may look at this and shake our heads and wonder why on earth the Israelites did not follow through.  After all, they had very clearly laid out laws and directions which would preserve and protect them as a people if they followed them, and God even gave them a pillar of fire as a light and direction for them to follow.  But instead, they did things their own way, often which resulted in death, destruction, lack, and disappointment.
  The thing here that really gets me though is that so many of us (myself included) are like those Israelites.  We know we've been called to do or not do something, and yet we choose to go our own way, and we spend our lives being constantly frustrated by our lack of success.  We know when we are headed down the wrong path, but we choose to follow it anyway.  We know when we should stop wallowing in the desert and start marching towards our destiny, but we hold ourselves back out of fear or distract ourselves with meaningless activities until the opportunity has passed.  But if we are to truly become successful in life and build lifetimes filled with purpose, we must learn to break free from this cycle.
  If we are to learn to move toward our own Promise Land, we must first and foremost make the decision to do what we know is right.  Maybe for you it is going back to school or applying for that position, or maybe it's pushing yourself to work out and eat better.  Maybe you need to sign up for marriage counseling.  Whatever it is that you know you should do, do not delay any longer.  Stop being stuck in the desert.  Do not allow your life to pass you by while you sit an 11 day journey from what could be yours.  
  There is a life of promise waiting for you if you are only willing to pick up yourself and start marching towards it.  Stop ignoring what you know needs done, and begin pushing yourself to take action to do what's right.  You may just find out that your destiny is far closer than you think.
I can't wait to see you succeed!

~K.W.