“You have roamed around this mountain country long enough; turn northward.”– God speaking to the Children of Israel in Deuteronomy 2:3 – Amplified Bible

Of all the stories in the Bible, the Exodus is one of the most fascinating.  Even through it took place thousands of years ago, many themes, lessons, and associations can be found within the narrative that directly correlate to our lives today.

God delivered the Children of Israel from Egyptian slavery and they set course for the Promised Land – a blessed country of their very own filled with destiny and purpose. 

Bible scholars have determined that the Exodus journey should have taken 11 days to complete. Instead, it turned into a 40-year trip filled with turmoil and disappointment.  Often, they found themselves wandering – a sort of self-imposed, aimless drifting that kept them going in circles around the same mountain for years.

An eleven-day trip that took forty years?  Seems hard to believe.  But when I honestly think about my own life, I can relate to mountains that I keep going around year after year.

For some of us, it’s an addiction that has us heading off in the same direction time after time.  For others, it’s a habit surrounding the food we eat, the wrong crowd of friends that we can’t break away from, or an affair we know we should stop but find ourselves going back to again and again.

For many of us, the mountains we keep encircling are mental ones – where our mind keeps following the same thought patterns over and over.  We can’t stop thinking about the bitterness, the self-pity, or the deeply seeded hurt that is hard to let go.  We let our thoughts travel back to places in the past that are destructive – reliving time and time again the mistake we made, the things said to loved ones that were hurtful, or the tragic accident that could have been avoided or stopped by us.

Do you have a mountain in your own life you keep circling around?  Do you have destructive habits or thought patterns that seem to keep repeating themselves?

I know I do, and if you are like me, take some time to contemplate the following:

Guilt

It is easy to develop a sense of guilt when we find ourselves repeating bad habits or catch ourselves thinking destructive thoughts over and over again.  We can feel worthless, powerless, and helpless.  The guilt we feel that is connected to our mountains can in and of itself hold us captive – leading us to believe we are not worthy or capable of heading in a positive, healthy direction.  The shame felt by going back to a place we know isn’t good for us, the remorse we experience by finding ourselves thinking of things we swore we would never contemplate again, the embarrassment associated with repeated failure, all has a way of keeping us confined to paths and places we don’t belong.

If you are feeling guilt and shame about the same old mountains you keep going around, realize those feelings are contributing to your repetitive patterns.

Break free from this kind of thinking by seeking God’s unconditional and unending forgiveness daily.  If it means asking again and again to be forgiven for behavior or thoughts that you keep practicing over and over again, keep asking, keep praying, and keep receiving God’s grace, and the guilt that is keeping you stuck will be lifted away!

Secondly, realize that going around in circles is a fairly common human behavior.  You are not alone. Left to our own devices, we tend to wander down familiar, comfortable pathways.  On our own, we tend to avoid the hard work connected with heading out in a new direction.  This is a normal, human response.

I am not trying to excuse away bad behavior or wrong thinking, but I am trying to say that each of us make this same mistake.  By realizing you are not alone, I hope it diminishes any guilt that is keeping you feeling powerless and unworthy to change.

Grudge

Some mountains we keep going around have nothing to do with us.  We are consciously aware that our life is going in circles, but we have no clue how to stop and begin a new, positive direction.  Maybe we feel forced to keep going down destructive roads that loved ones are traveling – afraid we might lose them if we don’t go along where they are heading.  Maybe you are forced to make repeated trips to the doctor’s office for treatments related to a sickness or disease you never intended on dealing with.

It’s very easy during times like this to hold a grudge against God.  Why is this happening to me?  Why do you have me stuck in this pattern for my life that isn’t what I want?  Why are you forcing me to deal with the same old thing time and time again?

I’ve felt like this often in my life, desiring a new way but stuck within circumstances that kept me going around the same old mountains.

If you feel like this as well, look hard at the Scripture verse I shared at the beginning of this article.  In this passage, there is a hidden message we often fail to see.

We hear God giving them direction, but what we don’t realize is this:  God knew EXACTLY where they were and how long they had been wandering.  He knows EXACTLY where you are now.  He hasn’t forgotten about you, lost track of you, or left you to your own way!

Don’t hold a grudge.  Don’t be angry with where God has you now.  Trust Him!  Believe He is at work within your life and circumstances.

If God would have wanted the Children of Israel to be in the Promised Land in eleven days, they would have been there.  He had different plans and those plans worked out best for everyone involved.

Grace

You might be thinking…. “I thought the Children of Israel were evil?  Wasn’t part of the reason they traveled around those same mountains due to their own foolish ways?”

Well, the answer is yes.  Part of the reason behind their wandering had to do with being human – making bad choices and purposely traveling down repetitive, destructive paths.

But there were good people too, like Caleb and Joshua.  Their good character and godliness didn’t get them to the Promised Land any faster.  They too had to wait 40 years – just as long as those who kept circling the mountain due to their own evil choices.

What’s interesting is how God’s grace abounded through it all – for everyone involved.  His grace kept Caleb and Joshua going – helping them deal with hardship they didn’t deserve.

At the same time, His grace kept surfacing throughout the forty years of poor choices and self-imposed delays by the Children of Israel.  He never stopped loving them – never stopped providing for them.  Much of the forty-year delay was on their own shoulders, but God never left them. He never gave up on them.

If you are going around some mountains in your own life due to your own bad choices, realize that God’s grace is abounding.  He is allowing those choices and honoring your individuality.  He sees and connects with the root cause behind your wandering.  He loves you all the same and His grace will never leave you!

If you are like Caleb and Joshua, circling mountains that are not of your own doing, realize God’s grace is abounding!  There is great purpose behind your journey – it is a part of your destiny.  God’s love and His grace will keep you going!

I have a good friend who kept going around the mountain of addiction.  Her family, loved ones, and good friends all expected her to die – stuck in the vicious cycle of drug addiction, trying to get clean and falling back into it again.  But God’s grace never left her side!  He kept watching over her during all those poor choices. He kept on caring for her.  Today, she is loving life and proclaiming how wonderful God has been to her.  His grace gave her the strength and determination to stop, and His grace will help her to fulfill her destiny as the years unfold!

In the same way, my father lived a life filled with health concerns.  He traveled around the same old mountain of hospital visits, invasive procedures, and disabling illness for years – not a life he chose to live.  He lived until he was 88 years old.  God’s grace abounded for all those years of hardship and difficulty. 

Guidance

I love God’s sovereignty – His rule over all things.  When I am feeling lost, confused, or troubled, I take great comfort in thinking about how nothing is impossible for Him to accomplish and that all things revolve around His good purposes, His good plans and His perfect timing.

He is the ultimate timekeeper.  He always has the final say.  When and if it is time to move, to head a new direction, then we can trust that God will start the process.

He tells the Children of Israel…“You have roamed around this mountain country long enough”– giving us insight into how He has allowed their own choices to materialize over time.  But now that time is up!  It’s time to move and to move in the right direction.

NOW was the time – not ten years earlier or even ten minutes earlier, but NOW.

Think about how God’s guidance is unquestionable, reliable, and always forthcoming.  It is something we can count on!  A God of love couldn’t possibly withhold it!  A God who is all powerful and omniscience couldn’t possibly give bad or faulty guidance, and a holy God wouldn’t provide guidance that wasn’t at the PERFECT time.

Why did God wait for forty years before telling them it was time to stop roaming?  Why did God wait to guide my friend out of drug addiction?  The guidance came at the perfect time – from an all knowing, all powerful, loving, righteous God, and that same guidance will come to you in your own life as you deal with those same old mountains you seem to keep going around.

That perfect guidance at the perfect time is inevitable.  The beautiful thing is you can count on it whether you are looking for it or not.

Father,

Help us when we travel around the same old mountains in our life.  For those we face due to our own bad choices, remove our burden of guilt that keeps us stuck in bad behavior and destructive thinking.  Forgive us Father – helping us to realize your forgiveness has no limits.

Give us wisdom to know that some mountains we keep traveling around are by your design – a part of our destiny, our growth, and our purpose here.

Thank you for your grace, your unconditional love that is with us every step of the way regardless of what we have done or what we deserve!

And most of all Lord…. thank you for your guidance that always comes to us, never withheld by you, and always in your perfect time!

Amen