Stepping out of Midian.

Day 33 of 90 days thru The New Testament 

Daily Reading Acts 7-9

SometimesI God will use scripture to speak straight to your soul where hes been doing the biggest work. Thats what todays Bible reading did to me. It was very peraonal and I knew he was speaking directly to me through these words. So I’ve been thinking a lot about Midian, that desert place where Moses ran after everything fell apart. The Bible says he stayed there for forty years, tending sheep and starting over. What I didn’t realize until  is that the very name Midian means “strife” or “contention.” Isn’t that something? Moses ran away to a place whose name literally meant struggle. A place of Strife. But that’s exactly where God met him. right in the middle of it.

    Now as I look back, I can see that my Midian has been right here in Tennessee. For ten years, this has been my desert . My place of strife and contention, but also my place of healing and growth. It hasn’t always been easy. There were seasons I felt hidden, misunderstood, or like I’d been set aside. There were moments I wondered if I’d missed my chance or if my best days were behind me. But just like Moses, I didn’t realize that God had led me here on purpose.

Midian wasn’t punishment - It was preparation.

    It was here..These last 10 years... That God stripped away the noise and the need to perform. It was here He began to heal old wounds, soften hard places, and reawaken dreams I thought were long gone. He was shaping me quietly, right here in the dust of this Tennessee wilderness.

And now this weekend , I can feel it deep in my spirit: I’m stepping out of Midian. Whooooooo.

Not running away, but being sent out!

This season has been long, but I know it was never meant to be forever. Although, Like Moses, I had begun to be pretty comfortable and happy in my Midian..but that's a whole other message.Because the same God who met Moses in the burning bush is meeting me here too ... Whispering, “It’s time.”

Time to go, time to lead, time to walk in the calling that’s been growing in the wilderness all along.

But here’s what hits me the hardest...When God finally sent Moses out of Midian, He didn’t send him somewhere new.

He sent him back.

Back to the same land he ran from.

Back to the same people who once rejected him.

But this time, Moses wasn’t the same man.

That’s what God does. He takes the rejected, the overlooked, the ones who ran away  and He sends them back redeemed, refined, and ready.

He doesn’t erase your past; He redeems it! Thank you Jesus for your Redemptive Power. 

So if you find yourself in your own Midian...In that place of struggle, strife, or in-between ...Do.not despise it. Don’t rush it. God does His best work in hidden places. Let Him heal you, teach you, and refine you.

Because when it’s time to step out, you won’t be going back empty handed. You’ll go back with wisdom, with authority, and with the fire of the One who met you in the wilderness.

AndJust like Moses, this time, they’ll know you’ve been with God.

Love Pastor Mandy