The Land Between

Finally the time has come for me to settle into a new church. My whole family has visited and liked it just as much as I did. The children's programs are wonderful, praise music just as I like, and the message was straight to the heart. Yesterday the message was about the Land Between. In Exodus 3:15-22, Moses is completely exhausted with the Israelites as they moan and complain about the manna they must eat morning, noon, and night. They are stuck in the desert, in between their slave days of Egypt and the glorious promise land that awaits them. Moses goes to the Lord and begs for Him to relieve the burden that has been placed on his shoulders to lead these people. The pastor brought this home for all of us by showing us how the Land Between can often bring out the worst in people. Imagine living day in and day out for 40 years having to eat this bland and tasteless food that rained from the sky. Some of us may respond by saying the Israelites should have been grateful for what was provided. However, I challenge you to take a minute as I did and think about that time in your life, possibly now, when you moaned to the Lord, "I just can't bear this anymore. I can't take it anymore! I can't stand being in this place!" I know that for me, my Land Between is now. I am stuck in the middle, having left the bondage of an unhealthy marriage and headed for the promises that God has waiting for me. In the meantime though, I must wait. I must be alone and lonely for a time while God prepares me to accept those things He has waiting. It's not an easy place to be. It is often hard to look around me at those who have made it to their promise land.....happy with their loved one, building a family and a future. This was, after all, my dream. To be happily married, parenting my children in a healthy family environment. Not sending them off to spend time with each parent seperately, watching my son cry "Mommy!" all the way to daddy's car. Some days I cry out as Moses did, "Lord this is too much to bear! I can't carry it anymore!" Sitting alone on a quiet weekend, with no significant other to share my heart with, I cry to Him, "When will the end of this desert come, Lord?" As always, He answers back to me that I simply need to wait. Wait and listen to Him.

See, as the pastor also pointed out, The Land Between, wherever that may be, can also be a time of God's discipline in our lives. In the book "The Land Between" by Jeff Manion he says it this way, "I firmly believe that the Land Between- that space where we feel lost or lonely or deeply hurt- is fertile ground for our spiritual transformation and for God's grace to be revealed in magnificent ways." WOW! Couldn't have been put any better! God wanted Moses and his people to be transformed and renewed before they were ready to receive the gifts He had waiting for them. Sadly, they never even got to the promised land. They died in the desert and never were able to see their descendents find the promised land and bask in it's wonderful glory. In each of our lives, I believe God has a promised land. A place you are longing for that only He can bring you to. He knows the way and will reveal it to you. In the meantime, we wander in the Land Between, learning to trust Him, learning to honor Him, and learning to obey Him.

The song I have found fits this story the best is on my playlist and is called "You Said". It talks about the fact that if we ask we will receive whatever we need. I don't know about you, but I'm going to try and learn from the Israelites mistake and make sure that complaint is not taking up residence in my life. Trust is what resides in me and will for my time in the Land Between.