Desert Experience Ahead - Proceed in Anticipation

Isaiah 43:18-21 (Amplified Bible)

    Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen, the people I formed for Myself, that they may set forth My praise.

It is among popular “Christian” belief that an abundance of material and other blessings follow those whose hearts are truly after God and that those who seem to consistently struggle to that end, cannot possibly be in God’s perfect will. I think we might have it all backwards.

Almost all the great men of faith I’ve read about in the Bible had to spend some time in the wilderness. Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist, just to name a few. God had to make them desperate. He had to cause them to be quiet and undistracted enough to hear His still, small voice. He had to make them hungry and thirsty enough to cry out for a miracle.

Interestingly, the word for wilderness, in Hebrew, is “meed-bahr”. And meed-bahr comes from the word “leh-da-behr”, which means to speak. Hmmm. Jesus had a 40 day wilderness experience, Himself. What better place, away from the crowds and noise of mankind, to have a focused conversation with God.

Some of us are walking through the desert right now. It’s hot by day — there is only rugged, thorny, sandy terrain for miles and miles and there seems no end. It seems looking in any direction we see no relief from the assault of the heat of our burdens. By night, the wind is unbearably cold and we stumble over things we can barely see. Snakes and scorpions live here. It seems like a lonely place.

Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. It is easy to remember ‘the good old days’ when we are in the midst of our desert experience. The people of Israel considered their years as slaves better than their desert hike. When we are always looking backward, we are not watching in anticipation for God’s work ahead. Behold, I am doing a new thing!  

The desert is actually a place of blessing! Not the conventional kind of material wealth, certainly, but it is for our growth, and ultimately for our prosperity that God has brought us here! Like it or not, the wilderness is where He can speak to us most effectively. It is the place He can most easily get our attention. It is the place we will cry out to God and truly listen for His voice.

Know that God is with you today! He is walking along with us through this wilderness and longing to comfort us. If we would only cry out to Him and heed His voice. The Promised Land awaits. Give Him praise!

“… because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen, the people I formed for Myself, that they may set forth My praise…”