Turn Northward!

Daily Devotional – Monday, March 20, 2023
‘You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward.”
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV)

Israel was in quagmire. They had left Egypt approximately thirty-nine years before. Many of those who had participated in the exodus were now dead. A new generation had risen up. Despite that, the children of Jacob were yet to enter the Promised Land.

Head North

This was their second time in Kadesh. Because of their unbelief and grumbling, they had wondered in the desert, in close proximity to Canaan. How frustrated they must have been, walking on the same territory they had covered years before! It must have been like a horror movie to many of them every time they came across familiar territory.

God, too, was not pleased. It was not His desire that the people he had delivered from Egypt with a mighty hand should wander aimlessly in the desert. Now that they had learned their lesson and were ready to inherit the land God had bequeathed to their forefathers, God had a special message for us.

Turn and Go North

“You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward.” (Deuteronomy 2:3). Their cyclical movement must now come to an end. Their minds and lives must take a radical shift. They must focus on the ultimate prize – reaching the land flowing with milk and honey. God then instructed Moses to seek passage through the land of the Edomites.

Like the Israelites, we often get into a life of drudgery when we disobey, disbelieve and complain against God. We find ourselves in situations where we can afford life’s bare necessities, but we are not making significant progress. Instead of living productively and happily in all aspects of our lives, we barely survive.

Turn Northward

Unless we pause and scrutinize why we are not making any tangible progress, we will continue stagnating. God’s message to us is the same as what He told Moses and his followers, “It is time to move upwards.” When we get tired of mediocrity and start believing fully in God, the journey to our promised land begins.

Do you have unfulfilled dreams and plans? Have you reached a point where you feel tired of waiting and you are losing hope? Is it possible that you stopped believing in God and instead became a chronic complainer? God wants you to restart your journey by trusting fully in Him. He says, ‘You have stagnated for long. Turn northward. Face heaven. Trust in Me.”

Prayer
Heavenly Father. I have stagnated for long in various aspects of my life. Today, I lift up my eyes to You. Restore me on the path of righteousness and prosperity.