The Difference Between Being Lost and Being Led
Rev. James C. Matthews
“Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness” (Exodus 15:22).
Many people who find themselves stuck in difficult situations often feel as if they’ve become lost. Somehow, they’ve arrived in a wilderness where everything has dried up and nothing seems to be growing. Many of them have lived in this wilderness for so long that they have given up on things changing and concluded that this must be all God has in store for them. On numerous occasions, they have attempted to change their situation, but all of their efforts have failed. If this sounds like you, you may not be lost at all! You may be squarely within the Will of God. All dry places in life are not the result of being lost. Sometimes God uses dry places as a place of preparation.
In Exodus 3:8, when God met Moses at the burning bush, He told him that He was going to deliver His people from bondage and into a land flowing with “milk and honey”. Yet, we know when God delivered His people from bondage, He led them directly into a “wilderness” where they spent 40 years. We know that their wilderness experience had a purpose because the Bible tells us that there was a shorter route available that they could have taken and avoided the wilderness altogether. Exodus 13:17 says, “God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near."
Whenever God leads you some where He has a purpose and a predestined place for you, even if the route is a long or a dry one.
Often, your wilderness is the doorway to your promise. At the initiation of Jesus’ public ministry He was led into the wilderness first before He ever preached a sermon. If you are in a wilderness right now, remember what you learned while there because it will be necessary to sustain you in your Promised Land. Don’t faint or lose heart. You may be at the door of your promise and purpose. You may not have been lost at all. You may have simply been led!
Pastor James C. (J.C.) Matthews is the founder and Senior Pastor of the multi-cultural, non-denominational Dunamis Life Ministries of Plano, Texas. Pastor Matthews is known for his love of God's Word, unusual wisdom, passionate preaching style and gift for practically applying scripture to everyday life. He is the author of the books: Saved, But Stuck: 30 Days to Personal Revival and Morning Dew: Where God has Commanded a Blessing.
