Exodus 23:29-30 -- Deliverance in Little Steps

"I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land."
Exodus 23:29-30


This is an interesting deliverance, which happens "by little and little." I think that God works similarly in our lives, and in the world. Sometimes we want that dramatic sea parting finish, but usually what we need is the little and little changes that help us move forward, clearing the way slowly. This is also God's strategy for clearing evil from the world, as he discusses in Jacob 5:

"And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck not the wild branches from the trees, save it be those which are most bitter; and in them ye shall graft according to that which I have said.
And we will nourish again the trees of the vineyard, and we will trim up the branches thereof; and we will pluck from the trees those branches which are ripened, that must perish, and cast them into the fire.
And this I do that, perhaps, the roots thereof may take strength because of their goodness; and because of the change of the branches, that the good may overcome the evil."

The shared theme seems to be that the Lord, by little and little, makes room for us as we grow into the people that we need to be. If we're good, then he can clear away a little bit more evil, slowly making things better. Today, let's work on making ourselves better, and as we are ready to progress along the path, God will clear a way for us. Let's let go of our need for the dramatic and accept the little and little, which will grow as we do.