Little By Little

20"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. ... 27 "I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. 28 I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land" (Exodus 23:20; 27-30, NIV).

What an awesome promise! When I first read this during my quiet time a couple of weeks ago, I knew God was speaking directly to me. This was a rhema word. One of my greatest areas of challenge is patience. I have plenty of well meaning friends and loved ones that always tell me patience is a virtue and a fruit of the spirit, and that my time is in God's hands. But when you're feeling discouraged, and you're struggling with an issue the way I was at the time, you don't want to hear a bunch of well meaning catch phrases, Christian based or otherwise. You really need something you can hold on to. Discouragement can lead to depression and once depression sets in, that can be a scary place. After still struggling with a break up, not loving my job, feeling a little isolated, this word was a breath of fresh air.

Right there is His word, God is telling me, that He has a plan for my life. That He is preparing the way. That even though I want things in an instant, He's preparing things little by little, knocking obstacles out of my way. Because if I take possession of the land before I'm ready, it can overtake me. That is so powerful.

If you ever find yourself wondering why God isn't answering your prayer or why things aren't moving as fast as you like, do know that God is an awesome God and He has a perfect plan for your life according to His will. And in the world of instant gratification and needing everything like yesterday, sometimes God moves little by little. If you're obedient and trust in Him, know that when you do get to your destiny, your promised land, you'll be more than ready to possess the land.