from deliverance to freedom, and the In-Between

wilderness

i think what the wilderness looks like for me is letting go of one thing so I that can take hold of something different. it can be a confusing place to be in. I get that.

if you're in a similar place, I think it's just a kindness to ourselves to remove all things - or allow God to remove all things - that will hinder our arrival to freedom. I'll mention here what I learned from Christine Cain: deliverance is not freedom, there's a wilderness you need to go through first.

For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; the LORD swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Joshua 5:6

to reach that place of height and depth we all long for and desire, the promised land, we need to make sure that we have some good understanding and structure around what is real now, because we need this to hold on to. the space we are in while letting go is a little like being in a rough sea:

a wilderness, an ocean.

- you can see where you've come from and where you want to be. simply put, it's a journey between two places, and like any journey, you need tools.

you need truths, oars, that will actually get you there - because, Friend, the current is going against you. I have found this true of the wilderness ocean always:

in the ocean of In-Between, the current is usually deeply, strongly, and relentlessly pushing you towards where you've come from and what you've left behind you.

so yes, the fact that you're on the boat and off the shore of something you needed to let go of is amazing, and it's deliverance, in all its relief, but now comes the hard and necessary journey where you question your desires, and actually lay them down before Christ so that you can be absolutely sure that what you desire aligns with his own heart for you.

why? because that land you want to be at, Friend, is the land he has prepared for you, and it is good, and overflowing with milk and honey - but you ain't getting there without following the perfect course. off by an inch now as you row will cause you to arrive miles from where God had desired you to be.

so, be kind to yourself:

remove the ropes that keep you tied to the shore of the past, take up the oar of truth that you can lean on and use to propel your self forward so that you don't sail backwards, and look up to the starry heavens for direction more often than you think you need to, so that you don't drift, to make sure you stay true on the course that leads to the freedom you were created to live in.