Have you ever found yourself trapped between where you want to be and where you are coming from?
This is a soul-crushing place to be in life - when you have left something behind but have yet to attain the next thing.
This is the reason many people are afraid to move forward and prefer to stay back in their comfort zones.
In this blog post, we will share a familiar story about how mismanaging the changes in your life could be life-changing, and how to manage changes for maximum results.
The move of life
In the Bible Book of Exodus, we find a record of what is arguably the largest movement of people ever. The move was long overdue, a good 430 years in the making.
Generations had come and gone hoping for that move to happen. Then it finally happened after some dramatic and traumatic display of supernatural power and might.
At this point, you'd be right to assume that everyone will sing and dance into the Promised Land.
Trapped in the wilderness
There wasn't going to be a direct flight from Egypt to Canaan. The way to the Promised Land had to necessarily lead the people through the wilderness.
If you understand this, you will unlock unlimited levels of resilience and a great ability to manage life in transition.
The people in our story struggled to adjust to their immediate circumstances. They protested the unfolding realities of the wilderness experience.
They became bitter and started mourning and yearning for their past. They wished to go back to the same old stuff that kept them in bondage for hundreds of years.
The crisis of change
Herein lies the danger of transitioning from one phase to the next. The spaces between the phases could be slippery and tricky to navigate.
It could be transitioning from single to married or married to single. It could be changing jobs, or careers, or perhaps transitioning from unemployment to becoming employed.
There is a tendency to loathe the very thing you once so desperately longed for. It is very easy for what was once a dream to turn into a nightmare.
This is the crisis of change. This happens when the change we see doesn't look or feel like the change we desire.
This is the difficult place between Egypt and Canaan. You have lost the delicacies of Egypt but not even close to the milk and honey of Canaan.
At this stage, despair, disillusionment, and disappointment may set in.
Bridging the gap
How do you survive in this place that doesn't taste like Egypt and is still far from the Promised Land?
Remember: You must remember why you are in that wilderness. You wanted to leave Egypt. You had been badly treated back there. You were enslaved. You were locked in. Remember why you left Egypt.
Let go of the past: Egypt is now behind you. You can't turn back the hand of time. You can't afford to go back. Even if you do, it might not be in your best interest.
Gratitude: Be grateful for where you are and what you have. It may not taste as good as Egypt yet, but it is enough to keep you going.
Count the cost: Think about the investment of time and resources that brought you this far. The people could not be released from bondage without the strong and mighty hand of God. Your journey so far has a cost and value that can’t be ignored.
Focus on your destination: The destination is ahead of you, and it holds promises that are beyond your imagination. Hold on to the promise. No player who wants to win a game plays backward towards their side of the field. To play to win is to play towards the opponent’s goal.
Conclusion
It could be traumatic when where you are doesn't look and taste like where you were, and still too far from where you want to be.
But you can only get out of that wilderness alive if you understand why you are where you are.
The wilderness is the way. You must stay focused on the journey and be grateful for how far you've come.
We pray and hope you get there with God as your guide.