You already ARE

Exodus 3:16 & 17 – To Moses: “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord , the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – appeared to me and said : I have watched over you and I have seen what has been done to you in Egypt and I have promised to bring you up out of your misery…” God then told Moses, in verse 20 “So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that he will let you go.”

I don’t think Moses thought, “Oh, right, so God is going to make Pharaoh say no over and over and over again until I am at my wits end. He is going to do things that I never dreamed of seeing in my whole life. Then, we are going to wander around in the desert for years and years and years and in the end I will not even get to go into the promised land.” In fact, even though Moses was a bit apprehensive about completing the tasks ahead he knew it was a mighty task with great promise and in the end he accepted the challenge and the call. He believed the promise of God to be true. He was probably a bit overwhelmed with the realities of what ended up unfolding.

1 Samuel 23:14 – “David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.”

Who was David at this point in his life? He was already anointed as the next KING! He already knew he was going to be king of Israel. He was given the call and the promise. But, he wasn’t given the kingdom or the castle. He wasn’t given the sword or army. He wasn’t given the robes or the crown. In fact, it was opposite. He was despised and rejected and threatened with death. He was sent running for his life, to hide in caves and caverns, to pretend to be insane, to hide and fear being turned over to the hunter. This isn’t what he expected the day the oil dripped down his face as Samuel anointed him king.

There was Abraham, there was Noah, there were many more fathers and saints before us that heard the voice and call of God. They heard the promise but had no idea of the in between.

Are you in an in between? Have you ever felt like day after day you are in the desert? Like you are running from someone, something? Do you ever remember the words the Lord has given you? The promises of things to come? Do you remember the calling that He has placed on your life only to wonder what is going on in this season right now?

We all have a great and personal calling on our lives. For some of us the call was long ago. Maybe it was years ago we felt the nudging in our spirit that we were meant to be or do something specific. For others of us we are living in that call but we know there is something coming, a change, a task, a ministry, a time of growth, a promise that we are expecting but not seeing it anywhere near. Maybe for you it is simply the desire and knowledge that Heaven is your home, not this world and your spirit is longing for home.

So, what to do in the in between? What did David do? Psalm 52 was written after he was ratted out to Saul by Doeg the Edomite – while he was trying to escape with his life. Verse 8 “I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God, I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.”

We know God has promises for us, we know He has plans for us, anointing and calling for us. We know that we are meant to honor, glorify and bring praise to Him. But, sometimes we feel like we are in the desert or we feel like we are in the midst of plague after plague. What do we do? We can’t lose sight of the purpose and goal. We can’t lose sight of the promise and anointing.

I recently read a dear friend’s blog and she used a great analogy. Her little toddler loves taking his bath. He had been having fun playing in the warm water but it was time for the little guy to get out of the tub. She spoke gently to him with her sweet mamma voice and informed him it was time to get out. He did not want to get out. He stood up, dripping wet and cold and cried loudly, “I want to obey, I want to obey, I want to obey.” This is a picture of me sometimes. Crying and dripping wet and cold and sometimes somewhat dreading what lies ahead but yet my heart is screaming, “I want to obey. I want to obey, I want to obey.”

This is what we look like often as we face the future full of the unknown. We get so comfy in our warm place and we know that when we move we might be found cold and naked and dripping wet. Do we obey?

Remember, David was already king when he was hiding in the caves. Moses was already the leader and deliverer (so to speak) of the nation of Israel while he was waiting for Pharaoh to finally let the people go. Noah was already safe and protected from the flood while he was spending hundreds of his years building a boat while others made fun of him.

You already are! You have been given a promise, a task, a ministry, a goal, a purpose and you already ARE, if you are choosing to obey. These men also sought and listened for God’s voice and obeyed even when it left them feeling cold and naked and afraid.

Get out of the tub and step forth in obedience. Don’t forget what He has already anointed you to do or be. He has already made a way and you already ARE!