6“When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. 7It is time to break camp and move on. Deuteronomy 1:6, NLT
Recently, NBC announced that in Spring 2014, comedian Jimmy Fallon would replace veteran comedian, Jay Leno. A statement made by the local newspaper caught my attention. It said, in so many words, there might be some fall out initially, but NBC was willing to take a chance on the long term good of their choice and deal with the “short term ramifications.”
This notion of dealing with short term ramifications is a bit different than what we commonly refer to as, “delayed gratification.” Delaying gratification, in general, means denying oneself of some “goodie” in order to experience something much better. I see dealing with short term ramifications as enduring something that might feel harsh, painful, highly undesirable, etc., because you understand that on the other side of the fall out, there is victory. It is more than a decision not to do something, but rather to do something that may create "issues" for others that cannot see the vision God has placed within you.
The children of Israel took what was meant to be an eleven day journey and turned it into a forty year wilderness experience. They were angry, frustrated, bewildered and begging to go back to Egypt because God’s directives through Moses made no sense to them. They nullified the long term vision of gaining the promised land because they couldn’t endure the short term pain, discomfort and uncertainties of the desert. They allowed short term discomfort, fear, shallow faith and "the crowd mentality" to nullify their long term blessings.
What long term vision are you nullifying because you can’t stand the desert and want to go back to what you perceive as a more “doable” setting? What crowd are you fearing in the short term? Are you staying too long in a situation, a mind set, a relationship, a career, a building, a house, etc., because you fear short term ramifications? Are you trying to hold something that God has said to release? Are you trying to prevent something from happening? Avoid some kind of backlash? Quell some kind of dissention?
For sure, there will be fall out when you dare to trust God and move ahead. You may lose some friends, some relationships, some members, some money, some notoriety etc. But remember, on the other side of short term ramifications is the beauty, joy, peace and victory of your promised land. Trust God and look beyond what your natural eye can see.
Post a comment or send me an email at Shepastor1@hotmail.com
Until next Wednesday,
In Faith, Hope and Perseverance,
Pastor Chris
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