promised land...

Following a message from my Pastor last night on the fear of the Lord, I had one of those life-shifting moments as I sat before the Lord. As simply and clearly as He could, He spoke to my heart;"I refuse to allow you to walk into your Promised Land carrying souvenirs and mementos from your days in captivity." There comes a time in life that you recognize, "This is it...this is the season I've been waiting for, this is what God has been preparing me my whole life for...this is my promised land" At the very same time, in readying us to lay hold of our destinies and our predestined purposes, God, it would seem, begins a relentless pruning and purging process. The plans He has for us require an ever-increasing stripping of the flesh. The divine must not be tainted with the residue of the demonic, and although that phrase may be seemingly harsh, it is reality. Satan, who loathes our very existence would love nothing more than to see us enslaved Israelites wandering aimlessly with the Promise Land just beyond our grasp. God, however, delights to loose the bonds of wickedness, to empty our hands of soul-enslaving trinkets and baubles and release us with joy into the very freedom He has set us free for. The relentless hand of God can certainly feel just that, relentless, but to be sought out by God is to be pursued by the Lover of Your Soul who has prepared a Promised Land of liberty and life for us; a destiny for our lives far beyond our wildest dreams....