I took a month off from blog writing for a little summer travel.
Trips. Adventures. Journeys. I love them all.

Did you know life is a journey?
We all start somewhere and end up somewhere.
You and I — right now — are on a journey. And the Bible has a lot to say to help us on our way. There was a time when God’s people, the Israelites, were on a journey from Egypt to a land God had promised them. Looking at how God helped His people on that ancient journey can open our eyes to how He helps us journey through life today.

A few years ago, my husband and 20-year-old son talked me into running a 5K race. A 5K, which is about three miles, is not such a big deal for your average runner. However, unless there’s a bear behind me or ice cream in front of me, I am NOT a runner — average or otherwise. But I had agreed to run and I kept my word. So I embraced that 5K race as my journey that hot July morning.

My husband, an experienced runner, had mapped out a slow pace, but my plan (and our son’s) was to see how fast we could get that thing over with. So, when the starting gun fired, my six foot tall son took off running fast and my 5′ 2″ self tried to keep up. We were both huffing and puffing before the halfway point, let alone the finish line. And there were hills. On the way up those hills, my burning legs made it quite clear that they wanted the journey to be over. Guess what. I didn’t run that race very well. In fact, if we’re honest, some people might call what I was doing after the halfway point — walking. I had tried to rush the journey, but couldn’t handle the pace I’d picked.

That’s kind of what God warned His people, the Israelites, about when they were on their journey through the desert from Egypt to the Promised Land. He told them that, when they eventually came to their new land, it would take time for them to move in. God was going to move out all the pagan nations that worshipped false gods because their worship was detestable; they even sacrificed their children in fires built to their imaginary deities. God told the Israelites that this move-them-out-and-move-you-in process would not happen all at once. The journey would take time. That was true of Israel’s journey then and ours now. God is good and He is sovereign; He’s in charge of where we’re headed and when we’ll arrive. So we can trust that God is leading us to the right place at the right pace.

Let’s look, in a couple places in the Bible, at exactly what He told His people —

The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.

Deuteronomy 7:22

I will…drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 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. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

Exodus 23:28-30

Did you catch that phrase “little by little” in both verses? We need to get a feel for what that even means because today we live in a microwave society. Everything seems to happen in minutes. We live in a world of fast food and overnight shipping. News comes in 10-second soundbites and we expect our questions to be answered instantly by Google.

When God told the Israelites that their move into the Promised Land would be little by little, He wasn’t talking minutes or even months. He was talking years — seven to be exact. That’s how long it took to move the pagans out (mostly) and move God’s people in. Definitely not microwave moving. Now if God can do things instantly (and since He’s all-powerful, He can), why does He so often take so long (in our perspective)?

For one thing, He knows what needs to change in His people so we’re ready for the next place. He knows every transformation needed in our attitudes, actions, hearts, and habits in order to move us along on our journey from who we are today to who He created us to be. Incidentally, Jesus also knows that we like change about as much as getting a tooth pulled. After all, He created us and He rubbed elbows with us when He walked the earth in human skin. He knows it’s really hard for us to do an extreme character make-over all at once. So God is a God of process. God does not need time. He always was and always will be. God lives outside of time. He created time for us; it allows our journey of growth to be gradual. That’s why He told the Israelites He’d move them in little by little. It’s actually a blessing that God helps His people work through things little by little.

God couldn’t give all the land to His people all at once because He had to get them ready to take care of the land — and themselves — in their new place. God had to make sure His people learned how to grow food in the new land, how to take care of livestock in the new land, and how to be safe from the wild animals in their new land.

So what might “getting ready for the new place” look like in our lives today? Let’s say you’re headed to a new job. There are things you need to learn before you can expect to function well in your new role. For food — you probably won’t be growing onions or raising cows at the office, but you’ll need to know how to find and navigate the cafeteria. I doubt that there are wild animals like the Israelites had lurking in your office, but you may need to learn to outmaneuver the “new employee always makes the coffee” trap, the office bully, or other workplace hazards. The key is, assimilating all these new skills and bits of information won’t happen all at once. So don’t get discouraged or give up when things move slowly. God has not abandoned you. He promises every believer that He will be with you wherever you go. When things seem to move slowly, God is just working all things together for the good of those who love Him. God helps His people work through things little by little.

Do you remember what Exodus 23:28-30 said? If the people got all their land at once, then the wild animals would be too numerous for them. Do you see? God wasn’t being mean by not giving them everything they wanted at once. He was actually looking out for them — just like He does for us when He doesn’t give us everything we want at once. The pace God gives us is for our good.

God isn’t just getting us ready for our new place. He’s also getting our new place ready for us. Remember — God had to remove those pagan people from the land where His people were going. Those child-sacrificing pagans were not only obstacles to God’s people moving in, they could have had a bad influence on the people God loved. God created life; He calls children a gift and reward. What if His people learned to sacrifice their children from the pagans? (Sadly, eventually God’s people would adopt pagan practices and would actually lose for a time the land God had given them.) But at this point in history, God had to keep His people separate from the pagans. He had to protect His people from those evil influences and from the suffering and other consequences that come from living life in ways that are not God’s.

Is it possible that God has you moving slowly on your journey to protect you? I wonder if He has you on a slow journey right now because He is working on removing from your future place people who may have a bad influence on you. Or maybe He is giving you time to remove from yourself bad habits or “bad-influence” people? God wants you and me to be surrounded by people who will support us in growing closer to Him, and in walking with Him on the journey He’s prepared for us — to the place He’s prepared for us — at the pace He’s prepared for us. The pace God gives us is for our good.

Now…about that race. I had tried to run that race faster than I could handle, not little by little (which is often God’s way of doing things.) I should have been able to complete it. You see, I had trained and built up my running endurance. I had downloaded the “Couch Potato to 5K” app and had practiced running that distance several times — but I had practiced at a slower pace, at the right pace for me. When I tried to finish that journey too quickly, I tired out fast and didn’t finish well.

The same thing can happen in this journey of life if we don’t go at God’s pace.
Going at God’s pace allows Him to strengthen us, refresh is, and teach us along the journey. Going at God’s pace lets us strengthen the muscles of trusting Him and making wise choices. As we go at God’s pace and run (or walk) the journey He has designed for each of us, God is preparing us for the place He has planned — and getting our future place ready for us. God is a God of process. He works little by little. We can trust that our good and sovereign God is leading us to the right place at the right pace.