My grandson Josiah, age 12, is already saving up to buy his first car. He has great dreams. One day he says it will be a BMW. Another day it will be a sports coupe. But he will have to wait for years before his dream is fulfilled, and he will first need to learn to drive! He needs training and preparation before he realizes his dream.
Do you remember the story of Moses? He was born into the home of slaves but ended up being raised as the son of Pharaoh. And just as he began to flex his muscles of authority, tragedy hit. He murdered an Egyptian man who was beating up an Israelite slave. Afraid for his life, Moses fled into the wilderness. All his hopes and dreams were sidelined. For forty years he lived in the desert and tended sheep, the lowliest occupation in the Egyptian hierarchy of careers. Moses had to wait.
Moses, not knowing the future, may have felt those forty years as a shepherd were a waste of time. But God used them to prepare him as a leader of his people. Hadn’t he already been trained as a leader by Pharaoh? Yes, but Moses needed to learn other qualities of leadership, including humility. He also needed to learn skills on how to survive in the desert. God used those years in the wilderness as a time of preparation for leading his people.
As you wait for your desire to be fulfilled, in what ways might God be preparing you for His future plan?
