What Have You Learned to Live With?
One of the greatest dangers in the Christian life isn’t failure—it’s settling. You may not realize it, but you can get used to almost anything—even a life that falls far short of what God has for you. You can adjust to disappointment, limitation, frustration, sickness, discouragement, or simply being average until you no longer expect anything different.
That’s exactly what happened to the children of Israel. After 40 years in the wilderness, Moses stood before a generation that had grown up with wilderness living. They knew manna, tents, desert conditions, and supernatural provision. But what they didn’t know was the Promised Land. Then God gave Moses a simple command:
Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
Deuteronomy 2:24
There are seven things to note in that one verse. Let’s look at the first one: rise up. That may sound insignificant, but it’s really important. Before you can possess anything God has for you, you have to get up from where you are. You have to become unwilling to spend your life adjusting to the wilderness.
When Dissatisfaction Is a Good Thing
There’s a dissatisfaction that comes from the devil, and there’s a holy dissatisfaction that God can use to lead you forward. Sometimes you need to get sick and tired of being sick and tired.
Psalm 37:4 says to delight yourself in the Lord and He’ll give you the desires of your heart. That doesn’t mean God will give you anything you want. It means that when you delight yourself in the Lord, He puts His desires in your heart. Sometimes that desire begins as a holy dissatisfaction with where you are.
I’ve seen this in my own life. When I was pastoring my first church in Seagoville, Texas, our congregation never had more than 12 people. People told me I should leave, but I loved those people and knew God had called me there. After about two years, though, my desires suddenly changed. I spent two hours praying about it, and the Lord showed me He was changing my desires and that we needed to leave on November 1. When I got home, before I could tell Jamie, she told me our landlord was selling the house, and we had to be out by November 1. That was a great confirmation.
The same thing happened when God started leading me toward television. I knew it was in my future, but I dreaded it because of the expense. We were already struggling just being on radio. Then one day in 1998, my desires totally changed, and I went from dreading it to being excited about it. God was leading me through the desires He put in my heart.
You Haven’t Tapped God Out
God has a promised land for you. I don’t care who you are or how victorious you may already be—there is always more. None of us have ever tapped God out completely. I have seen God do wonderful things in my own life, and I am thankful for every one of them. But I know there’s more.
That is why you need a holy dissatisfaction—not an unholy dissatisfaction, but a hunger for more of what God has planned for you. If you’ve been living in the wilderness and you know there’s more, don’t just sit there—rise up! Go after what God is leading you into.
If this teaching has encouraged you to seek what God has for you without settling, you don’t have to do it alone. Visit awmi.net for free teachings and resources to help you grow in your relationship with the Lord. And if you need prayer, call our Helpline at 719-635-1111. One of our trained prayer ministers would be honored to pray with you and stand with you in faith.
We love you,
Andrew and Jamie Wommack
