In The Promised Land
I used to think that once I arrived in the “Promised Land”, I would have all the milk and honey I wanted, and there would be no more problems or adversity; I could finally rest.
However, if I use the example of the children of Israel, the Promised Land indeed flowed with milk and honey, but there were still giants in the land, battles to be fought and hardship to contend with.
So why would I want to be in the Promised Land?
Because I want to know my God more intimately, I want to appropriate by faith the destiny that is already mine in Christ- and see that destiny lived out by my children and grandchildren and the spiritual sons and daughters that are born through the intimacy that I have with Christ.
If I never had any trials or problems how could enjoy the victories? How could I relate to and have compassion for those who do have adversity? How could I, with the authority of experience, tell others that “though weeping may endure for a night, Joy comes in the morning?”
God’s purpose for choosing and blessing Israel was illustrated in Psalm 67:
“God, be merciful to us and bless us and cause Your Face to shine upon us
-
SO
that Your saving health may be known among the nations! (emphasis mine).
I want to know Christ in the fellowship of His sufferings and the power of His resurrection. I believe to be fully alive is to know Him in both, realizing that, as Paul wrote: “knowing that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Shall I seek suffering? Do I like pain? No, a thousand times know- on the contrary, I have tried (futilely) most of my life to engineer circumstances that would exempt me from pain. Thanks be to God that there is a grace and a peace that transcends our circumstances
“To know You… this is my passion
To know You… the desire of my heart is
To know You… I long to discover
More than Your works- show me Your ways
As I look past Your hand to Your face
I gladly give myself away…
To know You!”
We look forward to the 2007 from Heaven!
Godrest and Godspeed!
David Baroni