Mar 31, 2023
Is it possible to live in the Promised Land here and now? Or do we have to wait until eternity in heaven? Rusanne Carole suggests we can have it here, yet it takes yielding to the One who is the lover of our soul, and in return, our soul finds a place to live... and rest! Your own individualized "Promised Land" God designed just for you is waiting.
****
Welcome to Women World Leaders “Celebrating God’s Grace” Weekly Podcast. I’m Rusanne Carole, your host for today’s message. We are so glad you have joined us or recently found us. We offer a trio of podcasts each week. Be sure to check out on Mondays where our founder Kimberly Hobbs spends an hour chatting with a fellow sister in Christ and we hear their story of challenges & triumph. We can all be so encouraged from hearing the testimonies of women who are following Christ. And on Wednesdays, our Teaching & Curriculum Leader, Julie Jenkins, brings us an in-depth study of the Word and how we can apply it to our lives. And join us each Friday where our team of podcasters bring a message of God’s amazing grace!
Visit womenworldleaders.com for information on our mission to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and empower one another to follow Him – love in abundance and cultivate women warriors in their purpose by His promise and power!
Which brings me to what God has placed on my heart to share with you. We read of the Promised Land in the Bible. The Israelites had been in exile and enslaved for generations, Exodus 12 tells us over 400 years! Moses had been called to take them out of that land of Eygpt to the Promised Land that God had promised & prepared for them. An 11-day journey that took them over 40 years to travel and enter – and many did not get to take that step into the Promised land, including Moses himself.
But it got me thinking – where and what is our Promised Land? Of course, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour we are saved. Our eternal home becomes heaven, with God for ever and ever. The Bible speaks of us becoming citizens of heaven, temporarily here to walk out this life on earth with Him, trusting Him and learning and experiencing all He has for us – an opportunity every day to yield to His purposes for our lives which when obedient makes us more and more like His son, Jesus, that He so freely gave us, who died so we could live!
Yet does anyone ever wonder, “Is this really a promised land I’m living in?”
“I thought life was supposed to get better, easier, more fulfilled when I became a Christian?”
“What is this ‘abundant life” the Bible described in John 10:10? Because, honestly I often don’t see a lot of abundance, I see a lot of other stuff. Could I, could we be looking at it from the wrong perspective?
John 15:8 says, This is to my Father’s Glory, that you bear fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. What fruit? How do we bear fruit and define our land of promise? Could it be for here and now, not just when we enter the gates of our eternal home? Might I suggest that that land for me – that land for you is there to step into, live in and take hold of. Let us not be a people that wander in the wilderness while the promises are just on the other side of the mountain that lies ahead of us. It’s there. We just may not physically see it with our natural eyes.
Your promised place is where God’s personalized promises over your life start to become a living reality! How do we begin living in this reality, in our own promised land? I’d like to suggest a few things to ponder.
1. Believe that God has made YOU promises, just for you! He knows you better than anyone and His plans are always better than the ones we often come up with on our own. Seek Him. Sit with Him in quiet times, maybe keep a journal, ask Him questions, just let it flow and write whatever comes to mind. His Sprit is in us, with us and He will guide us in what He has for us – always good!
I recently moved and I went through lots of photos and old journals – some from 20 years ago! It’s amazing what we forget! It was an amazing exercise to read my conversations on paper with God. How many times I didn’t know how I’d get through something. But as always, God is faithful and in His strength I got through. I’m still standing! It’s a good reminder too when we are going thru something to look back and reflect how He promises to be there with us every step – and He is!
Remember and remind ourselves that God promised us a place of blessing! God’s willingness & unwavering desire to bless His people is told over and over in His Word. He is the giver of good gifts and He exults His children when they cooperate enough to receive some. We often think of “blessing” as worldly possessions and success. Beth Moore, a sister in Christ and best-selling author, puts it like this – “Blessing is bowing down to receive the expressions of divine favour that in the inner recesses of the human heart and mind make life worth the bother”.
Would those that know us see us living for God, that our faith is REAL and that it works? That it makes room for and the possibility of a different life, a better life – a more LOVING, PEACEFUL, JOYFUL, PATIENT, KIND, GENTLE, SELF-CONTROLED LIFE? That is really our calling – that no matter what is going on around us – the mountains may crumble into the sea, the fig tree may have no leaves, but we know who we are in Christ and we trust Him to get us through the wilderness to begin living under the promises of GOD. It’s about believing.
3. God promised a place to LIVE, not vacation in! In John 15 God’s Word talks about a place of ABIDING! Resting, (def: Lasting a long time, enduring)
So is this way of life – of living- always easy? Lol, no!
Is this way of life automatic the moment we become a follower of Christ? Not likely!
But our soul needs a place to live. What better place than in the promised land God has prepared just for you! And day by day digging deeper where roots can be embedded in our soul, our hearts, in the ground that you possess there!
4. God promised this is a place of a great harvest. Many of us have heard the land characterized as a land of “milk & honey”. Yet Deuteronomy 8:7-9 brings us even more description and says, “ For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land-a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills: a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scare and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.”
Yes, heaven awaits. Our perfect eternal home, where at times we long to see or even be! But we trust God has a plan and a purpose for each of us – our own promised land to enter and conquer living in – a place of love, a place of peace, a place where we abide completely and totally in HIM!
Let us pray:
Lord, thank you that you have given us promises of living in a promised land – not just for the future but even for here and now! Help us as we navigate through the wilderness and challenges this life on earth brings. Thank you that you always had a plan for our redemption. It’s when we let go of our own travel plans and decide to let you lead the way does the real beauty of allowing our soul to live begins. Our soul currently has a place to live – in the promised land for you come to reside in us when we believe. We are in You. You guide our way into the land where our soul can be at peace. We thank you. We love you. And may all we do be for You and Your glory! Amen