“God is not taking you through the wilderness for you to die.”
One of my pastors spoke these words to me about a year and a half ago as I was at the very beginnings of a wilderness time. These words came from the story of Scripture, from the book of Exodus and the life of Jesus. These specific words are not in Scripture but are in the stories of Scripture. You will find this truth in the story of the Israelites and the life of Jesus. God does not in fact take us through wilderness for us to die although it FEELS like it.
Wilderness feels like death. It is full of pain, the unknown, abounding in confusion and sparse in hope. Wilderness causes us to long for past times, to see them greener than they truly were. Wilderness causes us to dream of escape, escape to anything, anywhere but here.
In the wilderness we long to change our location and God longs to change us. We long to escape and He longs to free us. There is a difference between escaping and being freed. When we are in the places that we most do not want to be God seeks to transform us, shape us and draw us nearer to Himself. He seeks to transform us and as difficult as that is we need to trust Him. Trust that He has not brought us to the wilderness to die but to free us to live.
Are you in a season of wilderness? What are your struggles?
Have you had opportunity to speak openly and honestly with God? Please do, He wants to hear your heart. He also wants you to trust Him. In the midst of it all cling onto His goodness – the stories are throughout the Bible, they are throughout your life and the lives of those around you. He is good, He is with you and He has not brought you here to die.
A special blessing on you as you wander in the wilderness.
**Sit again for as long as is available to you.**
Have more than two minutes? Can you relate to
the Israelites in Exodus 17:1-3?
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