What Is Shaping You?
Every action you take is a vote in the direction of who you are becoming. Your beliefs and behaviors form you over time, telling the story of your life. What story do you want to tell?
Look first at what is shaping you.
Formation happens best in seasons of challenge. When you experience something that you weren’t prepared for, that you can’t handle on your own, and that forces you to face your own weakness, one of two things often will happen:
You can take a shortcut, finding the easy way out, and sacrifice relationships or personal growth for the sake of convenient self-protection.
Or,
You can turn to God and your community for strength, to remind you of the truth, and to lead you forward. You experience the kind of transformation that only God can bring. You come out on the other side having been made new.
The choice is yours, truly. Only you get to decide who you want to be, what you want to be known for, and what kind of person you want others to experience from you. And yet, followers of Jesus know that their lives are a picture of God when others cannot see Him. That every belief and behavior is an opportunity to know, trust, and obey God more.
Exodus 13 tells the story of the Israelites being led out of captivity and into the land that God promised them. This was the moment they had been waiting for. Imagine the relief and excitement they must have felt as they anticipated all the good God had for them!
However, God knew what they didn’t. He knew that as soon as struggles came again, His people would forget all of His goodness, and turn back to their captors. So, “God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea” (Exodus 13:18). He took them the long way home. This course-correction brought real challenge to the Israelites, revealing their every weakness. They tried, over and over again, to take shortcuts in their formation, even wishing to return to the Egyptians who once enslaved them.
God never gave up on them. Even when His loving anger burned because they would not choose what was best for them, God was faithful to shape them into a people more faithful, obedient, and strong.
And though God did not rescue the Israelites in the way they expected, He never left them—not for a moment. Exodus 13:21-22 says, “The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.”
Even in your struggles, God will never leave you or forsake you. The challenges that you face today are an invitation to be formed by His grace. To hand your weaknesses over to Him, and let Him reveal His power. He does His greatest work in seasons of difficulty, if you’ll let Him.
PRAY
God,
You are holy, perfect, and kind. I trust You to carry me through today’s challenges while forming me into someone brand new. Thank You for Your constant presence, for being with me in the struggle. Help me see Your hand more and more around me as I choose to take the long way with You. Your power is made perfect in my weakness. I can’t do this without You.
Amen
Dive Deeper
Where are you tempted to take a shortcut today? Is there a person, a challenge, or a limiting belief that’s tempting you to take the easy way out? Take a step of faith this week. Here are two ideas to get started:
(1) Take 10 minutes to talk to God about the temptation you’re facing. Tell Him all the reasons why you want to take the easy way out, what you’re feeling towards Him, and what you wish He would do. After that, take another 10 minutes to sit quietly and listen. Pay attention to what you feel as you sit with God. Does He comfort you? Does He help you understand something more clearly? Notice what happens in your mind and heart after these 20 minutes with God.
(2) Share about your challenge, and the temptation you’re facing, with someone who follows Jesus—someone whom you trust. Ask them to share a story of when they felt a similar temptation. Pray together, asking God to show you His “pillar of fire” that is leading you through this challenge.