The Promised Land

by Keith Gardner

From the end of Genesis through Joshua we read the story of deliverance to destiny. A chosen people are moved from slavery to promise. These are real people on a real journey. The lessons they are to learn serve as our lessons; their fears, their fights, their loss of faith and their facing the promise is fodder for the imagination. It is in the telling of the story, the real and active hand of God guiding and meeting the needs of a stubborn people, that we see ourselves. It is here in this story that a very real journey, gives birth to a very real spiritual application. Our journey from salvation to maturity is mirrored in the Israelites journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.

The journey comes in stages. We are born again; we are birthed from death to life, this is our salvation. The tribes of Abraham are miraculously moved from the bonds of Egypt across the Red Sea into freedom, this is their salvation. Many of us get trapped here, on the other side of the waters: we are afraid to move into the freedom of our new faith. We never grow in the spirit, remaining perpetual babies.

The spiritual journey is fraught with trouble and danger. The passage to the Promised Land is the proving grounds of a growing faith. We learn to trust God; we learn His names and His character. The aim of the trip is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. He is our constant guide, a cloud by day and a fire by night. We do not get to choose the path to our new home; there are no easy roads.

It is here as we end our wilderness journey preparing to go into the Promised Land that our greatest dangers lay. The crossroads are confusing. The familiar paths of our spiritual expedition are behind us. We know these roads, they are marked and remembered. We can traverse the traps and the dangers with relative ease. It is tempting to go back; to turn our backs on our purpose.

The Promised Land has its own dangers. The greatest danger is misunderstanding. Throughout our travels we have anticipated the Promised Land; the land flowing with milk and honey. It is prosperity and blessings, favor and freedom, a spiritual hideaway from the trials of the wilderness; and that is the deception; the great mistake.

The reality of the Promised Land is a mixed bag of promise and strongholds, of blessings and squatters. In this new place of purpose the enemies are entrenched and the battles are more brutal than ever before. The power of God is the lesson of the times; walking in favor means fulfilling divine purpose. This is no vacation. The blessings are greater, but they come at the price of obedience. There is no room for self-will here. Venturing outside the will of the Father could result in devastating consequences.

This is the place where declarations are made; where resolutions are settled. Like Joshua, from long ago, it is in this promised place that we shout with the resolve of our conviction, “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord”.