ARE YOU IN A WILDERNESS?
Part 4

“Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,
leaning on her beloved?”
(Song of Songs 8:5).

1. GOD MAKES A WAY FOR HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Can you see no way out of your difficulties? It’s easy to get lost in the wilderness. There are no road signs, but keep trusting God. He will make a way for you. Isaiah 43:19 is a promise for you: “I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” Do you believe God’s words? It is impossible for Him to lie. Thank Him that He will make a way for you and remember that His way is always better than your way.

2. GOD PROVED HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Deuteronomy 8:2: “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.”

Our wilderness experience is a test to see what is really in our hearts. This is a good thing, because God is always leading us on to higher things. His purpose is to conform us to the image of His Son. He doesn’t want us to stay in our rut of sin, doubt, unbelief, and ignorance of His ways. He brings us into the wilderness to show us His ways.

3. GOD SHOWED MERCY TO HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Nehemiah 9:19 tells us that He revealed His “manifold mercies” to them.

4. GOD KEPT HIS PEOPLE SAFE IN THE WILDERNESS

Ezekiel 34:25 tells us that “they shall dwell safely in the wilderness.” We are always safer with God in the wilderness than in the midst of comfort without God. The safest place on earth is in the will of God.

5. GOD PREPARES US FOR HIS PURPOSES IN THE WILDERNESS

It was in the wilderness, the deepest part of the desert, that Moses had an encounter with God. He stood on holy ground in the desert. God kept him in that wilderness for 40 long years, but he came out ready to deliver a nation from the tyranny of Egypt (Acts 7:30-38).

David was forced into the desert to hide from the wrath of King Saul, but while in that desert he raised an army of men and came forth in God’s time as a king, prepared to reign over all Israel (2 Samuel 5;3).

John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of the Lord in the wilderness. (Mark 1:1-7; Luke 1:15-17 and v 80).

After Paul’s conversion, he went into seclusion—into the desert of Arabia, where he met with God and heard “unspeakable words” (2 Corinthians 12:1-7 and Galatians 1:17). From his wilderness experience he came forth to fulfil his destiny and be the mighty apostle to the Gentiles.

Sometimes you feel like you are in a wilderness as you are hidden away in your home. Be encouraged, God is preparing you. He is anointing you to prepare your children to come forth to fulfil the destiny God has for them.     

6. GOD PREPARES US FOR BATTLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Exodus 13:18 tell us: “But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.” The NLT says they went forth “like an army ready for battle.”

The word “harnessed” is chamush and means “able-bodied soldiers, armed men, equipped.” In the other three passages in the Bible where this word is used it is translated “armed men.”  But where did the Israelites get their weapons? They were slaves and under the hard bondage of the Pharaoh. Some commentators believe they went forth in an organized way, at least looking like an army. I am sure that while waiting to be set free as God sent the plagues upon Egypt that Moses and the elders planned their exit, right down to the very last detail. The NKJV says they went out in “orderly ranks.”

Exodus 12:37 tells us that 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children came out of Egypt. Most commentators believe that would have been about 2. 5 million people. To tell you the truth, I believe it could have been more the way the Bible says they were populating in Egypt (Exodus 1:7-12). Perhaps three to five million? It must have been an incredible sight.

I am sure they stripped the bodies of the slain Egyptians for weapons after they drowned in the Red Sea. They faced a battle with Amalekites soon after which they won with the help of God. However, they were not yet ready to conquer the land of Canaan. They were new out of slavery. They were still fearful and bowed down in spirit. They had to learn to trust God.

Read how their fear and unbelief kept them from entering the Promised Land for another 40 years—and then only two of them got in! (Numbers 13 and 14). The next generation had to be trained for the big battle ahead.

We are also in a fight against the powers of darkness. In the wilderness God teaches us to be strong and courageous and how to fight the enemy His way, not our own way.

PRAYER:

“Thank you, dear Father, for showing me that I need the wilderness to prepare me  for what You have ahead for me. I need the wilderness to learn how to fight against the enemy. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I will not reject it but embrace my wilderness experience.

FURTHER STUDY:

David’s preparation in the wilderness:

1 Samuel 22:2; 23:14-15, 24:1; 26:3; and 1 Chronicles 12:1-15.  

ARE YOU IN A WILDERNESS?
Part 3

“And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud,
to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light;
to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day,
nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people”
(Exodus 13:21, 22).

We have been discovering all the wonderful things God did for the children of Israel in the wilderness. “But that was just for them,” you say. “Can God do these things personally for me?”

Let’s look at more testimonies.

1. GOD FED HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

God led His people to a barren wilderness. It wasn’t long before they were crying, complaining,  and demanding food! But God did not let them down. We know the wonderful miracle of how God sent the manna to them. He didn’t send it to them for one day, but for 40 years! There wasn’t a day that God wasn’t faithful to provide food for them until they reached the Promised Land.

But they had to trust God for each new day. He wanted to teach them  that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:).

What a faithful God we have. He hasn’t stopped being a faithful God. And even when you are going through a drought and you’ve got hardly anything to eat, you won’t starve. You may not feast, but you will eat!

During our lives, God allows us to have times of lean eating (just enough for our needs) and other times of feasting. Even Paul knew how to abound and how to be abased (Philippians 4:12-13).

Do you remember that it was also in a desert place that Jesus fed the 5,000 (Mark 6:31-44)?

2. GOD GAVE HIS PEOPLE WATER IN THE WILDERNESS

Nehemiah 9:20: “Thou gavest them water for their thirst.”

Isaiah 35:6: “In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.”

Isaiah 41:18: “I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.”

Isaiah 43:20: “I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.”

Isaiah 48:21: “And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he cleaved the rock also, and the waters gushed out.” Are you dry and thirsty? Even in the desert God will satisfy you with water.

On two separate occasions God brought water out of the rock for them (Exodus 17:6 and Numbers 20:10, 11).

You may feel parched, dry, and desolate. Look up. Jesus is your living water, even in desert times.

3. GOD PROVIDED ALL THEIR NEEDS IN THE WILDERNESS

Can you imagine it? For 40 years their shoes and clothing did not wear out. He provided a pillar of cloud to protect them from the sun by day and a pillar of fire to give them warmth and light at night. They didn’t enjoy the mod-cons we take for granted today They had no shops. They couldn’t run down to the supermarket for an item they think they needed. They had no entertainment centers. They had no “extra” things, but God says in Nehemiah 9:21 that “they lacked nothing.” Read also Deuteronomy 2:7; 6:4; and 29:5.

You may not have all the things you covet or even think you need, but if you have food and clothing and a roof over your head, you lack nothing! We need to remind ourselves of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:25-34.

4. GOD REVEALED HIS MIRACULOUS POWER IN THE WILDERNESS

The children of Israel lived miraculously every day. Every day they walked out and gathered angel’s food to keep them healthy and strong. Apart from all the miracles we have been reading in the above points, they saw more manifestations of the power of God.

At the beginning of their journey they arrived at Marah, parched with thirst. But they couldn’t drink the waters because they were bitter. God showed Moses a tree which he cast into the water and they immediately became sweet (Exodus 22:26).

They saw God open up the ground and swallow up the tents and all the families of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, because they rose up against Moses. Read this breathtaking story in Numbers 16.

Another time when the people rose up against Moses, God instructed the prince of each tribe to take a rod. Moses laid their rods and his rod in the presence of the Lord. The next day Moses’ rod had budded, blossomed, and yielded almonds! The others were all dry. You can read about this in numbers chapter 17.

 Expect miracles in your wilderness experience.

5. GOD SHONE LIGHT ON HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Nehemiah 9:19: “The pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go.” God didn’t leave them stranded. He didn’t leave them in the dark.

As we go through our wilderness season, God never leaves us in the dark either. He has given us His Son who is the light of the world and His Word which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).

Are you in the dark and you can’t see any way out of your tunnel? Take hold of God’s Word. Clasp it to you, read it, stand on the word God gives to you, and don’t let it go. It will be your light in the darkness.

“Who is among you . . . that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon His God” (Isaiah 50;10).

PRAYER:

“I thank you, Lord God, that You are bringing me through the wilderness. Please help me to have the right attitude. Help me to see that this is all part of Your plan and that You are preparing me for Your highest purposes. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am walking through my wilderness, rejoicing that God is with me.

FURTHER STUDY:

God feeds you in the wilderness:

Exodus 16:11-36; Numbers 11;1-9; Deuteronomy 8:3; 16; Nehemiah 9:20; Psalm 78:19; and John 6:31, 32.

God gives water in the wilderness:

Deuteronomy 8:15; Psalm 78:15, 16; 105:41; 107:35; Isaiah 35:6, 7; 41:18-20; and 43:19, 20.     

ARE YOU IN A WILDERNESS?
Part 2

“Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness,
so that they lacked nothing;
their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell”
(Nehemiah 9:21).

When our daughter, Evangeline, gave birth to her eighth baby, she wanted to call her Sahara. At first her husband did not like the idea of calling her after the name of a desert. However, as they thought of all the mighty things that God does in the desert, they realized that it was an amazing name to call their child and they decided on the name of Sahara Oasis.

We continue to discover more wonderful surprises you will encounter in your wilderness experience. Claim these great promises. Lean on them. Confess them. Believe them.

1. GOD DID NOT FORSAKE HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Do you feel that God has forgotten you?

Be encouraged by these words: “They refused to listen, and did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them; so they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. And You did not forsake them. Even when they made for themselves a calf of molten metal and said, ‘This is your God Who brought you up from Egypt,’ and committed great blasphemies, You, in your great compassion, did not forsake them in the wilderness“ (Nehemiah 9:17-19 NASB).

Dear daughter of God, as you face trials and difficulties in your life, remember that God’s word is always true. You can claim this promise. He will not forsake you in your wilderness.

2. GOD MANIFESTED HIS PRESENCE IN THE WILDERNESS

The children of Israel had no shops, no marketplaces, no modern conveniences, and no lush fields to grow vegetables and yet God dwelt in their midst. In the tabernacle, which was in the center of the camp, God dwelt between the cheribims in the Holy of Holies in all His Shekinah glory. The children of Israel could look out at night and see the pillar of fire rising from above the Holy of Holies.

When they completed the tabernacle God came and filled it with His glory. This happened at other times too. They were privileged to see the glory of God in the wilderness (Exodus 40:34-38 and Numbers 14:10).

God said in Exodus 25:8: “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”

God said in Exodus 29:42-46: “I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory . . . And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.”

Are you in a the “howling wilderness” that Deuteronomy 32:10 talks about? Look to your God. He will manifest His presence to you too.

3. GOD KNEW HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Deuteronomy 2:7: “He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee.”

Hosea 13:5: “I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.” God intimately knows what you are going through. He never leaves you.

4. GOD KEPT HIS PEOPLE AS “THE APPLE OF HIS EYE” IN THE WILDERNESS

The description of “the apple of his eye” in Deuteronomy 32:10 reveals God’s tender care for His people. The pupil is the most sensitive part of the eye. Even in the worst times, the “desolate howling wilderness,” God tenderly watched over His people. The HCSB says: “He found him in a desolate land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded (encircled) him, cared for him, and protected him as the pupil of his eye.”

When you go through your wilderness experiences God encircles you and watches over you with tender care. You may not feel His presence but you can count on it!

5. GOD SUSTAINED HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Nehemiah 9:21 testifies: “Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness.” God will sustain you too.

6. GOD CARRIED HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Deuteronomy 1:31: “And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went.” God carried His people all the way through the wilderness. Not once did He let them down until He brought them to the Promised Land.

I love the Knox translation: “Your own eyes have witnessed how the LORD your God carried you through the desert as a man carries his little son.” Isn’t that so beautiful? You are God’s little daughter and He is carrying you through your wilderness.

7. GOD GIVES GRACE IN THE WILDERNESS

Jeremiah 31:2: “Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness.” How did God show His favor and kindness? By giving them rest. This is also a rest in God for you in your wilderness.

            More SURPRISES next week.

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, I thank You that You are the God of the wilderness. This is where You love to manifest Your power and Your presence. I thank You that I can experience Your power and presence, even in my “terrible” wilderness. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am triumphing even in my “terrible” wilderness.

ARE YOU IN A WILDERNESS?
Part 1

“The Lord thy God . . . Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness,
wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought . . .
that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end”
(Deuteronomy 8:14-16). 

Are you going through a desert time in your life? Does it seem a “great and terrible” experience? Perhaps you feel as though God has forsaken you. Your life seems dry and meaningless.

Please don’t despair. Your wilderness experience is not a time to grovel and complain. It is your opportunity to see the power and provision of God. You can experience more miracles from God in your wilderness than at any other time. The children of Israel did not accidentally land up in the wilderness. God led in—they were in His perfect will.

Granted, it was not a smooth road! They faced serpents and scorpions. They endured hunger and thirst. They could not survive without the help of God. Nor can you. But look up! As you take your eyes off the “terrible” wilderness and trust in God, you will be in for some SURPRISES.

Let me show you want happens in the wilderness.

1. GOD LED HIS PEOPLE INTO THE WILDERNESS

God led His people into the wilderness, through the wilderness, and out of the wilderness. He will lead you through your wilderness too. And remember, your wilderness is only for a season. His plan is to prove you in your wilderness so He can bring you out into a good place. The above Scripture says: “that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end.” Look beyond your difficulties to where God is taking you.

2. GOD GUIDED HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Psalm 78:52 tells us that God “guided them in the wilderness like a flock.” All through the wilderness God guided His people like a shepherd. Trust God. He is guiding you in your wilderness too.

3. GOD INSTRUCTED HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Deuteronomy 32:10 tells us that “He instructed him.” The Hebrew word for “instruct” is “bin” which means “understanding, insight, and discernment.” You will have insight into God’s ways in your wilderness experience far more than when you are on the easy path.

God had much to teach His people in the wilderness. They weren’t ready to live in the Promised Land when they first came out of Egypt. They were still a broken people. They had a slave mentality. He had to ingrain into them His laws, statutes, and commandments and make them into a set-apart, holy people with a conquering spirit.

Moses lived 40 years in Pharaoh’s household in the education of Egypt. God had to take him out into the wilderness into Jethro’s household for 40 years to unlearn his humanistic education and receive God’s education. It happened again when Moses brought out the Israelites from Egypt. They needed 40 years to unlearn their Egyptian ways and change their Egyptian mindset to God’s mindset.

Sometimes God has to take us into the wilderness to unlearn much of our worldly education and to open our hearts and minds to His ways (Isaiah 55:8, 9). God cannot use us for His purposes until we are filled with His truth and understand His ways.

4. GOD SPOKE TO HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Nehemiah 9:13 (NASB) states: “You came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments.”

Isn’t this amazing? They were out in the wilderness, but God spoke to them from Heaven! What more could you want? Sometimes God takes you into a desert place in your life so that you can hear Him speak to you. The desert is quiet and free from distractions. You can hear His voice more clearly than when taken up with the “successful” busy rat-race of this life.

Where did God speak to Moses and give him direction to deliver His people from the Egyptians? Out in the backside of the desert (Exodus 3:1-14). Sometimes you may think you are in a wilderness hidden away in your home. Well, look forward to God speaking to you!

Let’s look at some ways God speaks in the wilderness.

SHAKINGLY. “The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh” (Psalm 29:8 NASB). God gets your attention in the wilderness. Sometimes He may have to shake you up!

FACE TO FACE. “I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God” (Ezekiel 20: 35, 36). Sometimes God takes you into the wilderness in order to plead with you face to face.

TENDERLY AND KINDLY. “I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14 ESV).

PROPHETICALLY. Balak, the king of Moab, was afraid of the children of Israel. Therefore He asked Balaam, a prophet, to come and prophecy curses over God’s people. However, every time Balaam opened his mouth, God spoke His words of blessing through his mouth. Four times he spoke powerful and prophetic blessings over Israel and even spoke of the coming of Jesus saying, “there will come a Star of Jacob.” Read all the great prophetic words in Numbers 23:8-10; 18-24; 24:1-9; and 15-19.

Expect God to speak to you prophetically in your wilderness too.

More SURPRISES next week.   

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord God, I thought I was finished, but now I see this is just the beginning of Your dealings with me. I thank You that even in my hopeless situation You will speak to me and reveal more of Yourself to me. I am listening, dear Father. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

Even in my desert times I am listening for God to speak to me.

Further Study:

God led His people throughout their whole journey in the wilderness:

Exodus 13:8; 29:42; Deuteronomy 8:2, 15; 29:5; 32:10; Nehemiah 9:12, 19; Psalm 78:53; 136:16; and Amos 2:10.