January 28 Incremental Holiness

Exodus 23:30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take the land.

Exodus 23:20 and 23 Behold I will send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared....For mine Angel shall go before thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, an the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I will cut them off.

God through Moses reminded the Israelites of the reality and ministry of angels, here to go before them, preparing the way. It is interesting and comforting here also to note that God has a timetable designed for the good of his people. He is going to give them victory but with the right timing, preparing them to handle it when it comes. (It make s me think of the mess many young star athletes make of their lives when they are suddenly paid millions of dollars but have no training or coaching for that part of their lives.)

Though the New Testament doesn't say a lot about angels, it does say enough to confirm their continued ministry today. The writer tells us much about angels in Hebrews 1 and 2; in sum that they initially worshipped Christ and then that Christ in Hebrews 2:9 took a place below them (where we are) to taste death for us (to bear our sin debt).

Hebrews 1:14 says this: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation. I wonder if we could think of it this way: Little by little, angels go before us, clearing out the enemy and preparing us in ways we cannot see for what is ahead.

Somehow the angels minister to us. Perhaps they bring thoughts to our mind to encourage us, reminding us of Scripture we have read or heard, bringing past experiences of God's grace and sufficiency back to our mind. Perhaps God uses them to move us into place where we can be taught or influenced in such a way that we grow.

I keep thinking of this picture: God driving out the enemy before the Israelites, so that when they are ready, mature enough to take the land, it is clear.

Whether it is through the work of angels or not, the reality is that God wants to grow us and prepare us for what is ahead. This brings to mind something I have seen on and off for the last 25 years; a new believer from a sin-filled background arrives on the scene with an amazing conversion story. This individual is placed on the stage in the limelight to tell his story. The problem is that he has not had opportunity to be nurtured, to grow in his understanding of who he is in Christ or just to develop a real relationship with God. No fertilizing of that seed of faith, if you will.

And then we are surprised when this person we have rushed to center stage falls.

I guess I take away from this today the importance of always being teachable and of always growing, of being patient as God works in my life, and the lives of others. He is always preparing us for what is ahead.