You’ve Been Here Long Enough — Part 1

<< This is a two-part series where we talk about two different instances where God used this phrase (LONG ENOUGH) with the children of Israel. >> 

You’ve Been Here Long Enough!

That’s what the Lord was speaking to me this morning.  LONG ENOUGH.

I didn’t hear it in a fed up, impatient, jerk-me-up-by-the-ear-in-church-because-I-wasn’t-listening kind of way (but if I was God, that’s probably how I would have said it to me.)  Instead, I heard it in a gentle, firm, loving, this-is-best-for-you kind of way.  And I KNOW He meant it for me, but maybe He’s saying it to you too.

Do y’all camp?

I must admit, I am not a fan of camping – unless it’s in an RV.  Call it spoiled or high maintenance or whatever you like, but I feel like we work too hard to have nice things (like a/c, comfy bed, running water, a bathroom I don’t share with critters or the public, a fridge) for me to pack up and go out into the woods and pretend I DON’T have those things.  I know some people find camping relaxing, but I am not one of those people.  Give me a nice cabin where I can go out on the porch and watch nature all around me – and then go back inside and have a shower, a glass of tea, and make myself some dinner.  THAT is relaxing.

Webster gives several definitions of the word “camp.”  A camp can mean a place of temporary lodging (or verb “to camp” can mean to lodge temporarily, especially in an inappropriate or uncomfortable place.) OR “to camp” (again, used as a verb) can mean to remain persistently in one place.

Sometimes we come to a place in our life where we are only meant to camp temporarily, on our way to the next thing God has for us, but we stay too long.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I don’t believe that the Lord means for us to NEVER STOP.  He specifically commanded us to rest (Exodus 31:15).  He created rest.  In Genesis 2:2 it says that He rested.  But stopping for a rest, and being stuck in a rut are not the same thing.

Deuteronomy 1: 6-7a NIV

The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country…” 

Now, Mt Sinai and Mt Horeb are the same mountain – some translations of this verse even say “Sinai.”  God had led the Israelites to Sinai from Egypt (Exodus 13:21) And what we know from scripture is that the children of Israel had – as we would say today – been through some STUFF at Mt. Sinai.  Most scholars think they stayed there, at the base of Mt Sinai about a year. Here is a rundown of some of the events at that location:

• Moses had seen the burning bush there, while tending his father-in-law’s flocks, and that’s when God sent him on assignment to free His people.
• God led the people – with a cloud by day and fire by night – to Mt Sinai.
• Moses struck a rock and God gave the people water to drink.
• Moses asked to see His glory, and God showed him. God also gave Moses His name – YHWH.
• God gave Moses the 10 Commandments (twice y’all – because Moses lost his temper and broke the first set) and made a covenant with the people.
• The Israelites had rebelled there and made a golden calf. Moses came down from the mountain and the very presence of God to find them worshipping it.  He burned it, ground it to powder, put it in water and made them drink it. 
• The tabernacle of Moses (it was portable) and the Ark of the Covenant were built here.
• God dwelled in the camp of the Israelites in the tabernacle, in the form of a cloud by day and a fire in the cloud by night.

 

The point I am trying to make is that the Israelites didn’t just HAPPEN upon this particular place at the bottom of Mt Sinai and say, “Hey y’all, drop your tents! This looks like a good place to stop.”  On the contrary, God brought them to this place specifically and INTENTIONALLY.  He MEANT for them to be there.  There were things He intended to happen, and things that were not a part of the plan, but happened because the people rebelled.  Either way, it was a necessary part of their journey.

The fact that Moses had been familiar with the area BEFORE the exodus, and the fact that they had been there a while since leaving the abuse and oppression of Egypt, coupled with all they had been through at this location, meant the Israelites were getting comfortable here.  Again, make no mistake, God GUIDED them to that place, and he had them there for a reason.  He’d wanted them to rest.  He had things he wanted to teach them.  He wanted to show them that they were precious to Him (Exodus 19:5-6). They had been in Egypt and had a slave mentality, and God wanted to teach them how to live as a free people.  He brought them there to change their mindset!  But, He never meant for them to stay forever.

Is that where you are?

Is He talking to you?

Long enough.

 

— Girl, I know you were exhausted.  I know you needed to rest.  I know you were used and abused, and folks said and did things to you that were neither right or true — but you’ve been here long enough. 

 

— Girl, I know that you were a slave to sin for a long time.  You answered to the master of your addiction, your oppression, or your condition for what felt like an eternity until you discovered the freedom I gave you.  I brought you here purposely to change your mindset and teach you what freedom means – but you’ve been here long enough.

 

— Girl, I know that when you came to Me, you had to learn a whole new lifestyle.  You had to start the uncomfortable process of sanctification, purification, and refinement.  You are a different being than you were when you came here.  I know it’s not easy and it takes a lot out of you – but you’ve been here long enough. 

Get up.  Break camp.  Advance.

He has an assignment for you.  He has been preparing you.  It’s something that you are uniquely qualified to do, and you will do it like NO OTHER PERSON WHO HAS EVER WALKED THE EARTH.  But you can’t do it here.  Get up.  Break camp.  Advance.  He’s sending you into the hill country where there will be highs and lows.  There will be more to learn, more to do, more to see, more to experience.  It will be a long journey.  But He will be with you every step of the way.

— Start packing, girl.  You’ve been here long enough.  I’ve got things for you to do…

 

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