Numbers 32:13 (NLT) says, “So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the Lord was destroyed.”

 

Have you ever heard the saying, “Up the creek without a paddle?” The reason is because the current dictates everywhere you go! If you have a paddle, at least you can go in the direction you want to go, but without it, you are at the mercy of the water. This is where the children of Israel found themselves! They followed one of the greatest and most anointed leaders in world history, saw the miracles worked in Egypt, was led by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, fed by manna from heaven and quail, and yet they remained in cycles! Patterns of inconsistency breed cycles of rebellion! Since they remained inconsistent in their walk with God, living in obedience one day and refusing to get Egypt out of them the next, they continued just moving in circles, allowing the current of their feelings and lust to dictate how they lived. It is time to break the cycles of rebellion and flow in the direction that God wants us to go!

 

In kayaking, if you just paddle on one side, you will only go in a circle. Half of the time you will flow in the direction God wants you, and the other half you will resist that very flow. In other words, you will be inconsistent! You must balance your relationship with God, moving with the flow of the river if you want to reach your final destination in Him! You exert much more strength paddling upstream rather than downstream. Believe it or not, it is so much easier to just say, “Yes”, to what God is calling you to do instead of resisting it through stubbornness, fear and disobedience. God will give you direction, but it is up to you to execute and follow through with wherever God leads. In other words, it will require your effort to have vision and work in God’s purposes for your life. God isn’t going to force His will upon us or make us do anything.