Today, in your walk of faith, if you are experiencing a spiritually dry time in the wilderness, the Holy Spirit wants to encourage you by saying; during wilderness seasons, when you don’t feel the aliveness and power of my Presence, you may feel numb, stuck, alone, or afraid. But continue the quest to seek me, and you shall find me in a larger way (2Samuel 22:20). During wilderness times, I AM is preparing His children to enter into a larger spiritual full of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills (Deut8:7). God seeks His children in the dry places, in order to lead them into the land of milk and honey.
Will you continue to seek Him in the wilderness or will you seek other things to fill the emptiness you are feeling and harden your heart? A hardened heart is a heart that has grown spiritually disoriented, callous, numb, disconnected, insensitive, and hurt/ angry towards God, because of difficult trials or prolonged hardships. Maybe you’re weary and tired of waiting on God to fulfill certain promises, or maybe you just dread facing the future, or maybe you are angry because life isn’t fair and doesn’t seem to be working out for you or the ones you love. Possibly, you are unconscionably disappointed in God because you feel like He does not care about the cries of your heart.
To usher the Israelites out of bondage and slavery in Egypt, I AM performed many mighty signs and miracles, to bring His children to freedom, in the Promised Land. The Israelites stood in awe and praised God, as He opened the Red Sea and swallowed up their enemies! At last, they were on their way to the Promised Land! However, they had to go through the wilderness of testing before they could reach this promised land of milk and honey. Similar to the Israelites, when we come to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, He brings us out of spiritual death and bondage into new life, and offers us the power and freedom to walk in the on-going Kingdom of God. As baby Christians, we rejoice in our salvation and have faith in the power and promises of God! But it is inevitable that sooner or later, all God’s beloved children will experience various wilderness seasons, where faith and belief in a loving, caring, and powerful God will be tried and tested. In fact, true heart transformation into Christ likeness, and authentic spiritual growth will take place, as we press on and continue to follow Yahweh, during the dry times that try our heart and soul.
The Israelites journey through the wilderness was trying, and many started to complain about everything. The weakness of their flesh was taking a toll on their faith. They were tired of what they were eating, tired of living in the desert, tired of Moses’ leadership, and tired of waiting on God. We can substitute the word tired with angry, because they were feeling extremely embittered and irritated about the long duration of their circumstances. They got caught up in habitual negativity, and it kept them from seeing and recognizing God’s love and faithfulness to them. Their previous grateful hearts toward God had turned into constant complaining hearts! Negativity had taken control, and blinded them from seeing any positive outlooks for their future. Many of them stopped seeking I AM and started seeking relief apart from God. In this numbed out, angry, complaining state they blindly moved into the trenches of settled rebellion. They wanted it their way, and thought they knew a better way to relieve the pressure they were feeling! They hardened their hearts and turned away from God, while rejecting the good plans God had promised them for their future. Their ongoing rebellion against God set them up for unbelief towards God, and sent them traveling into the wilderness for forty more long years. Their unbelief had shut them out from receiving, and partaking of God’s promises and rest.
In life’s school, we will all have seasons of passing through a spiritual wilderness experience, when all seems wrong, and the promises we believed God for feel unattainable. In this trying season, when feelings and faith are at war, let us learn from the Israelites example of the dangers of hardening our hearts against God and taking things into our own hands – falsely believing that ‘my plan’ is the best and ‘my timing’ is right will only delay fulfillment of the promises of God into our lives. Remember the path that sets us up for unbelief today is the same as it was for the children of Israel. In preparation to receive God’s rest and the fulfillment of His promises, we must continue to seek Him during the hard times. As we turn towards our Grace Giver, the One Who faithfully bestows His love and mercy on us, His Spirit will enable us to pray and release any pride, negativity, and unbelief that may fill our heart and in turn, put it onto Him. Lord Yahweh is big enough to take it all- He is big enough to bring us through the wilderness and make us victorious to walk in the Land of milk and honey!
So, let us take heart during wilderness seasons when we feel uninspired, weary, and unspiritual. We must realize the dangers of hardening our hearts and turning away from seeking, relying on, and trusting in God. Let’s humbly turn towards Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to help us work through our hearts, and release the negative through prayer, onto Jesus. Let’s choose faith and surrender to God’s Ways, over feelings and pride. By seeking God, and holding fast to our belief in an all wise, faithful, loving, benevolent God, we will be prepared to wait, believe, and receive what He has promised, and by faith continue our walk into His Kingdom of Light.
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as [happened] in the rebellion [of Israel] and their provocation and embitterment [of Me] in the day of testing in the wilderness” (Hebrews 3:7).
“If you will seek (inquire for and require as necessity) the Lord your God, you will find Him if you [truly] seek Him with all your heart
[and mind]
and soul and life” (Deut4:29).
