God Says You’re Traveling Alone For Now

Exodus 33:1-3: Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants, I will give it’: “And I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite – to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, lest I destroy you on the way.”

The Israelites were given instructions to move camp and head towards Canaan to the land that God reminds Moses He had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  We are reminded again that He promised it to their “descendants” and not specifically even these generations. God was basically implying, “Look, I’ll keep My promise even though these people have sinned again me.”

Here’s the good news. God promises that He will send an angel before them for their physical protection.  He promised them that they will have no problems with those they meet on the way or in the land of Canaan and names all the various tribes He will drive out to facilitate their travels. The Israelites as a whole (but perhaps not individually) are guaranteed safe passage to the land of milk and honey.

Now here’s the bad news. God tells them that He will not go with them as before when in Exodus 13:21 we read, “The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.” Now, I believe this was a really big deal for the Israelites. They had always counted on God’s accompaniment. Now they have to go it alone. Perhaps the best way to relay this feeling is to think of a young child who has been disobedient and their parents say, “Sorry, you’ve blown it. Now you have to do it alone.” We’ll see how the Children of Israel react in the next section of the chapter. Right now, we note God’s rationale for His decision.

In the last part of this text, God tells His People that He won’t go up with them to Canaan – He won’t be in their midst. First of all, we need to consider how much that decision hurt or caused sorrow to God Himself. I remember when our young children had defiantly disobeyed one of their parents and I had to spank them (yes, that was okay in my days and, in my books, still is). I would always end up saying, “Now this is going to hurt me more than it does you.” And I’d end up with just as many tears in my eyes. I’m sure God felt somewhat like that when He was sharing this news.

And His reason for taking such action is that they are an “obstinate” people. Try looking up some synonyms for that word. You get stubborn, pigheaded, inflexible, adamant, unmoved, persistent, and tenacious among other possible substitutes. Can you imagine feeling that way about your own children? God was so angry with them that He realized if He joined them on their journey, He may have come to the point of destroying them along the way.

We do not very often think of this but this passage indicates that God knows Himself well. It’s almost as if God has to fight His own emotions at times in order to stick with His promises. He withdraws temporarily to save His children and get them to their destination.

It hit me as I studied this that God also remains silent and at the sidelines of our lives today when we too are obstinate in one fashion or another. He certainly holds back His anger from us and He remains patient with us because He loves us to no end.

In this world of ours today, it is very difficult for many to imagine what I call a “real relationship with the one and only real God”.  And yet, for those of us who are believers, that’s exactly what you and I have – a “real” relationship with the “real” GOD. And it’s a love relationship – certainly on His part.  But that’s all the more reason why we can’t just keep on being obstinate – being lukewarm, being apathetic towards Him. We have a choice – call it quits or see it as the greatest investment for our eternity. My prayer is that you and I will find ourselves on the same side of the line having chosen to love Him back dearly.

Thanks for dropping by. Sign up to receive free updates. We bring you relevant information from all sorts of sources. Subscribe for free to this blog or follow us by clicking on the appropriate link in the right side bar. And please share this blog with your friends. Also, I’ve read some good books and make some great recommendations for you at http://astore.amazon.com/accorconsu-20  which you can purchase right from there.  Finally, check us out at Accord Consulting.  And while you’re here, why not check out some more of our recent blogs shown in the right hand column.  Ken.

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I Can't Believe I Walked In That

Sacred Dung: Grace to Turn Bad Things Into Good Things

John D. Duncan, Austin Brothers Publishing, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 2015

I Can’t Believe I Walked In That!

This is John Duncan’s third book in his “Sacred” trilogy.  In the first one, Sacred Space, he shared with us how to find a) the silence we need in order to survive in this crazy world, b) the speech that we need to be able to converse with God, and c) the ear we must cultivate to hear God. In his second book, Sacred Grit, he takes us to a training ground for the Christian life if we plan to finish well.

In Sacred Dung, he is basically telling us: There are good things and there are bad things. Good things happen to good people and bad people. And more importantly, bad things also happen to bad people; and most importantly, they happen to good people, too.  But for the Christian who has been prepared in the Sacred Space, and trained and equipped with Sacred Grit – dealing with the Sacred Dung is possible, beneficial, and is exactly what God wants of us while we’re walking this earth.

To accomplish this, Duncan takes us through some teaching on Sacred Refuse, showing us the need to move away from focusing on the past and start looking to the future.  He shows us how to eradicate the darkness that has befallen us (or that we have fallen into) and start to shed light into the available crevices. He also points out that the party’s over if we cannot “dump the dung” – we may as well “Kiss life goodbye” and “Turn out the lights”. But he doesn’t just say that – he tells us where and how to start the dumping process.

When we come across dung in our lives, we must realize that it is in essence our wilderness, our desert.  We all hit one sooner or later. The author shows us how to move from loss to gain.

In the process, John Duncan helps each of us realize what many of us refuse to accept. With some wonderfully written examples, he convinces us that we cannot predict the future, neither can we control, nor force, life. Surprises happen.  Some are good but some are bad.

I’ve tried to refrain from giving away the author’s wonderful quotes, allowing readers to discover them for themselves, but I had to get this one in: “Sacred dung invites us into God’s light in the darkness, into His oasis of grace in the wilderness, and into His healing grace in the agony of the soul.”  We come out of the wilderness and away from the dung remarkably different and yes, better, people. The book is proof that no matter what, God is good – not just some of the time, but really “all the time” – even in our dung.  There, God does His best work on our lives.

In the latter part of the book, Duncan shows us how God turns hurt to healing sharing some of his own life with us, as well as the lives of others.  That alone is a great solace to any one of us.  But he takes the reader beyond that point of focus on his/her own hurt and healing. He talks about “stitches coming out” but “scars remaining”.  And for many, those scars are often hidden.  He says they’re “unseen, unknown, invisible” to others.  But we are to assume they are there and act accordingly towards others.  Here’s the way it should work – God graces us so that we can grace others.  God heals us, allowing us to use our experiences, to help others heal.

If you like great quotes, John has his own, but he also draws on some terrific and very applicable ones from the great poets and writers of history. And he also likes talking right to the reader – something that takes a little getting used to, but it works well for him.

Speaking of quotes, I just must leave you with this last one from the author near the end of Sacred Dung: “All you have to do in the dung is hold your nose and open your eyes to see God’s presence, protection, and power; to see His strength as a refuge for you by faith, under grace, and in the hope of His joy.”

If you’ve stepped in the dung, or are doing so now, this book has the potential of helping you dump it and staying out of it.  If you’ve never been there, keep living, you will be and this book can help you navigate your feet away from it when that time comes, for it will.

-- Ken B. Godevenos, Accord Resolution Services Inc., Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 15/11/25

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Thanks for dropping by. Sign up to receive free updates. We bring you relevant information from all sorts of sources. Subscribe for free to this blog or follow us by clicking on the appropriate link in the right side bar. And please share this blog with your friends. Ken Godevenos, Church and Management Consultant, Accord Consulting.  And while you’re here, why not check out some more of our recent blogs shown in the right hand column.  Ken.

 

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Ever Wonder Why Some Christians Can Handle Life's Curve Balls?

Why is it that when serious difficulties arise in life, certain Christians remain at peace and still very much 'alive' while others succumb to depression and some even end up rejecting the faith they thought they had?  Well, interestingly enough, the Apostle Paul gives us the answer to that question in his letter to the Romans.  In chapter 8, verse 6, he writes, "To be spiritually minded is life and peace."

We see the answer to the question is that one needs to be "spiritually-minded".  And the best, or should I say the only way to be spiritually minded is to be filled with the One and Only True Spirit of God.

Now please, as you read the rest of this, don't go saying, "this guy thinks he's spiritual".  That's not at all what I think and that's not at all what I'm saying.  There is a big difference between being "spiritual" and being "spiritually-minded".  And the biggest difference comes with the idea that true spiritual-mindedness stems from being "Spirit-filled".   So, do detect the nuances.  For example, one can be 'spiritual' if one simply has an interest in spiritual things.  One tends to be 'spiritually-minded' if one then views the world through the lens of their spiritual knowledge.  The third state of being is that of "Spirit-filled", a Christian concept, which means to have the Spirit of the Living God dwelling within a person.

Charles F. Stanley, commenting on this verse, says this: "Spirit-filled men and women are not isolated from what's going on around them . . . "  In the last two days I heard of some world-wide calamities.  I learned about persecution of Christians.  I learned about death in the families of friends.  I learned about the loss of work by people I know.  And so on.  Each of these things are known to me and for some I broke down and cried.  No man is an island.  We are indeed not isolated from what's going on around us.  We can't be and many of us do not want to be, isolated, as difficult as dealing with some of these things can be.

Charles continues: "(Spirit-filled men and women) experience hurt and disappointment like everybody else."  During these same two days I had to deal with my own physical illness.  I felt disappointment in the progress one of our missions was making with respect to certain initiatives.  And there were other things.  Due to my illness I could not even get out to buy my sweetheart a rose or something nice for that special day we celebrate in February.  I could not go to my grandchildren school's bake sale for which my nine year old grand-daughter and two friends sold bracelets they had made to raise funds for a school in Kenya I will be visiting in a couple of months.  You see, we're all human and those that are Spirit-filled seem to have to deal with our humanity even more.  It is as though the devil has been told "no, stay out" of that Spirit-filled person's life.  And so naturally, that's where he wants to focus.

Charles continues: "They have their daily bouts with temptation."  No kidding.  Those that are filled with God's Spirit do in fact deal with just about every sin we can think of on a regular basis.  Temptation is not eliminated.  I see it on television.  I see it on the streets and in the newspaper I read.  Sometimes I get it from my own wife, in church no less and I start to distract her ability to listen to the sermon.  Sometimes I'm faced with it at my dinner table as my daughter is a great cook.  And so on.  Sometimes I deal with temptation that says "boy, I'd like to do so and so to so and so" when I think of some of my colleagues or board-members or people in my church.  The temptations are always there, even for or especially for, those that are Spirit-filled.  You see the devil goes after the bonus points -- Spirit-filled people who submit to temptation give him more points.

Charles Stanley now gives us the upside: "What sets (Spirit-filled men and women) apart from the rest of the world is their response.  When circumstances wreak havoc with the peace of Spirit-filled people, there will be some downtime.  But they won't stay down.  They refocus their attention on the big picture, acknowledging the truth that their peace is from the Lord, and then move on. . . . They know that "the mind set on the things of the Spirit is life and peace."

So there you have it.  How is your response to life's curve balls?  When one of them smashes the peaceful vista window through which you view life each day, what do you do?  Yes, you'll be shocked that the window, the one with the beautiful stain-glassed sectiona got smashed.  And the pieces are all over your beautiful hardwood foundations of life.  You will lament for a time.  You'll eventually go and get a broom and bucket and get down there and start cleaning up the mess.  Whatever it takes.  Then you'll look around and you'll start focusing again on the rest of the room and the rest of the beautiful home you have -- representing all the other aspects of your life -- maybe it's children, or your spouse, or your church, or your health, or your job, or your friends, or whatever was not damaged when that curve ball hit your life.  You'll see the big picture again.  And you'll know the Truth and the One Who is The Truth and He shall make you at peace again.  You'll get the window replaced somehow.  It may not be exactly the same, but if you ask Him, He'll fill the hole the curve ball made.  And then you'll move on.  And in the process you will have been refined and made a more experienced and stronger person ready to serve others better, for Him.

Life did not end.  Life did not even stop.  It just required you to breathe harder for a while.  Now you know the rest of the story about how some stay at peace during life's hardest experiences.

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