STUCK.

In the history of the United States, America was birthed by pioneers coming into the country and making headway to new areas and then the Pioneers stopped pioneering and settled and became settlers.

Then as a new generation arose from this place of settled-ness and they too pioneered into new parts of the Americas only to settle themselves later on.

At New Wine Danielle Strickland described “movement as a definining characteristic of Gods people” we are called to be followers of Christ, followers by nature of being people who follow are not hanging around and stagnating.

The people of Israel were following God, but they stopped and camped in various places sometimes for quite a long time, it took them 40 years to get from slavery of Egypt to the promised land, and yet when you look on a map it’s not actually a long journey, the problem was they kept settling down and dwelling were they probably shouldn’t have been hanging out, some of these places sound like quite nice sounding places until you realise what their names actually mean, they stayed for a year in a place called “Bitter” now that doesn’t sound like a nice place to live, but it is a place you get stuck.

Other places we know the people of Israel got stuck in were places was called “the grave of lusts” and another “shady or shadowy”.

They were meant to be following where God was leading , heading to the promised land, and yet they were getting stuck hanging out in these places which slowed them down, wasted their time, and drew them away from where they were supposed to be.

Yet how many of us and our Churches get stuck in places they shouldn’t be, defeatism, negativity, petty squabbles and power issues, we make our homes here in these wells of contaminated water and wonder why we are not spiritually thriving when we have made our home in these dark places.

Perhaps you have pitched your tent in a place it shouldn’t be?

Perhaps you are dweling in, or returning to places that the Lord is not wanting you to go and be in, muchless reside in.

The best way of not being stuck in the wrong place is to be chasing after Jesus.

I’ll close with some lines from the song ‘O Jesus I have Promised”

O let me see thy footprints,

And in them plant my own,

My hope to follow duly is in thy strength along.

Let’s keep going, not getting ourselves stuck in places that destroy us, and instead are keeping in step with the Spitit, moving on where he leads us, every step of the journey.