Some experts say it should have taken the people of Israel only 11 days to get from Egypt to the Promised Land.
But it took them 40 years!
How did they turn a two week trip into four decades?
Because even though God delivered Israel from their Egyptian masters, the people weren't really free.
Their hearts clung to the security they had while living under their oppressors... and they failed to believe God was leading them to something better.
It's not unlike a lot of us among God's people today.
We know we've been forgiven and delivered from our guilt.
And we might even have a vision of how God wants to use us as His renewed image bearers in this world.
But the familiarity of the past and the uncertainty of the future keep us stuck.
So we wander. Maybe for years and years.
Even though God keeps proving His faithfulness and showing us He has something more in mind for our lives.
The start of another decade prompts us to trust Him and move forward -- lest we remain stuck and keep wandering.
It's the ideal time to put off the old and put on the new -- decisively -- and build His kingdom with your gifts.
'I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD' (Ex.6:8).