The Wilderness Experience

We become so complacent with God that we tend to  not appreciate Him.  We get to the place where we don’t see our answered  prayers. Instead of trusting God’s timing, we are blinded by an invisible clock that dictates the timing of our life.  What about acknowledging God’s presence even in an unanswered prayer? Thanking Him for another day to live out your purpose. Our walk has become more about what I can get as oppose to what I can give. Always praying for something rarely thanking Him for everything. As my husband and I sat having some quiet time with the Lord, I was deeply convicted. I have been ungrateful. Not only have I failed to see what God has been doing in my life but I’ve magnified what “He hasn’t done”. Who am I? Am I God? Can I give advise to God.   It’s as if God’s ways aren’t perfect; I’ve grown to question His ways and His method. Who am I? Can I advise God?

Typical human nature is to magnify the negatives and minimize the positives. But God is always working, the master orchestrator never sleeps. He knows what we need even before we ask. He knows what we need when we have no clue if we should move or stay. The truth is, I do not know what is best for me. My flesh tries to tell me what I need but those needs are fueled by selfishness and short-sightedness. God is concerned with the long-haul, He’s preparing me for eternity. He’s concerned with building my character requiring levels of discomfort.  God’s best for me, may not coincide with what I think is best for me, because human err is to lean towards the easiest route! God is not calling us to the easier route, He’s calling us to carry and bear our cross daily. He’s calling us to keep our minds on heavenly things.  He’s calling us out of human nature and into spirit nature. He’s calling us out of Egypt into the wilderness and eventually to the Promised land.  Egypt represented a place of bondage and complacency, while the wilderness is a place of freedom with total reliance on God. It’s easy to stay in a place of comfort even if you are in bondage. This place is more pleasing than stepping out into the unknown… But if we only knew what awaits us at the end of the wilderness.

I feel like I’ve been in the wilderness for a long time. There are times when I look back towards Egypt and play with the idea of walking backwards. Thinking of the things I never worried about in Egypt that have now become a constant reminder here in the wilderness . Things that have revealed the vile and selfishness within my heart. Like the children of Israel it’s easier to think about all the good things you had in  Egypt, that required nothing of you, than to see the provision of God for you in the wilderness. The wilderness requires faith, trust and a total dependence on God. Isn’t this the best place to be in your life?  I know that it doesn’t feel like it, but it is. Even though you aren’t where you think you should be it you are where God wants you to be!   The wilderness is needed, don’t be ungrateful. Ask God to show you the pruning and molding He’s doing in the wilderness. Don’t be so commonplace with God that you don’t see the works of His hand. It may not be providing water from a stone but it could be connecting you with the right person in your church. It could be Him helping you find this blog. It could be Him leading Me to write this blog.  God is not slow to fulfill His promises; He knows more than you and I!  Allow God to work on you, acknowledge what He has done! Every step towards being who God has called you to be is imperative, nothing is insignificant! I’ll leave you with what my husband reminded me this morning, “God’s always speaking it may not be how we expect it but He’s speaking.” In the same way that the children of Israel couldn’t get to the Promised Land without going through the wilderness neither can you! 

I think we need to examine the children of Israel’s journey to the wilderness. What do you all think about their journey?

What has your experience been in the wilderness? What have you gleaned from the season? Please share you never know who might need to glean from your harvest!

“But the Lord has taken you and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to Him a people of His own possession, as you are this day.”                                                Deuteronomy 4:20 AMPC

“Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?”             Isaiah 40:13-14 NLT

“And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”                    Philippians 1:6 AMPC

“The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 AMPC

With love through Christ, Nadesha