It’s a hard, hard lesson
But your gonna have to learn it
It’s a long cold swim up against the current
And somewhere down the line
Your gonna have to turn it around
‘Cause boy right now, you’re nowhere bound…
-Diamond Rio
All Who Wander Are Not Lost. This has become a popular slogan for excusing our inability to be dedicated towards our destiny. Without realizing its subtle deception, we believe it to be a glamorous way to look at wandering. Except there is nothing glamorous about wanderlust. It will leave you unsatisfied and empty at every turn. Your current lot in life will look to be less than that of others, with a constant feeling of discontentment.
The only time wandering has a luring appeal is on vacation, of course, even then, it looks more like meandering than wandering. Plus, there had to be some sort of focus and financial structure to make the vacation happen in the first place. So once again, the alluring appeal of wandering is deceptive at best.
Regrettably, there is a bit of wanderlust in all of us; a frame of mind that says, “I will just see where life takes me.” Albeit I have always been very focused, I was not always detailed in the details. I typically had a rough sketch of the plan, but no color had been applied to the final drawing.
Nowhere is this laid out clearer than with the Children of Israel and their wandering years in the desert. They desperately desired the place God had for them but they refused His methods; to the point of constant complaints and questioning. The Children of Israel wandered from their own lack of devotion to the destiny God had for them; wandering was punishment it was not freedom.
From Egypt to the Promised Land was only a distance of about three hundred and fifty miles. What should have taken two to four weeks took them forty years. Most of us have a short journey to our assignment if we didn’t make so many detours along the way.
Lack of strategy keeps us aimlessly searching. And yet, God desires that our beginnings run deep in our assignment. It has been said that Israel never reached the complete borders of the land that was promised to them. They stopped short. I often wonder if I stop short of the fullness God has in store for me?
My father said,“There is always a shift when God reassigns us. We will retain the memories but lose the mission of the previous assignment.” Accepting the new mission is up to us. “And the Lord caused all that Joseph DID to prosper…” Genesis 39:3. It is much easier to steer a ship that is already in motion than one that is sitting idle.
The journey ahead will be a shorter distance if we will use the faith God is growing on the inside of us rather than following detours of our choosing. I do not want to spend my life wondering from wandering. “Nowhere Bound” is a desolate place to be.
Welcome Home
“Like a bird who wanders from his nest is a man who wanders from his place.” Proverbs 27:8
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