By nature we are adverse to change. Edward Wheeler Scripture recounted this conclusion in The New Psychology (1897): “a live frog can actually be boiled without a movement if the water is heated slowly enough; in one experiment the temperature was raised at a rate of 0.002°C per second, and the frog was found dead at the end of 2½ hours without having moved.”1 Unlike frogs we have the ability to know and choose between right and wrong given the right guidance.
We are in a time never before experienced. So many questions but no satisfying answers. For those who are ill prepared, they may succumbed to the pressures of life. But this I know—God is good and God is faithful. He will fulfill his promises. For those who love Him all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.2
Protection. Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.3 Have you inadvertently missed out on an angel that God has sent you?
Little by Little. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.4
We know the story of Exodus. An entire generation did not enter except for Joshua and Caleb. Thus, God’s promises are not automatic; it is optional—Partial, Progressive, Conditional. God positions you in a place for His priorities rather than your preference. He will prepare you but not step in for you. He will not possess the land for you. You have to walk in and take possession of it by FAITH.
Notes:
1. Scripture, Edward Wheeler (1897). The New Psychology. W. Scott Publishing Company, Limited. p. 300
2. Romans 8:28
3. Exodus 23:20-22
4. Exodus 23:29-30
