Journey through the Wilderness

It took forty years, eleven months and one day for Israel to complete an eleven days’ journey (Duet 1: 2-3)

This was a journey through the wilderness

Yet, God was with Israel in the wilderness:He blessed the work of their handsHe had knowledge of what they were going throughHe provided Israel of all their needs

Deuteronomy 2:7 For the blessing of the Lord your God has been on you in all the work of your hands: he has knowledge of your wanderings through the wilderness: these forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have been short of nothing

Why does God allow us to go through the wilderness?Through periods of stress and isolation.

Through periods of difficulty and loneliness.

Deuteronomy 8:2 And keep in mind the way by which the Lord your God has taken you through the wilderness these forty years, so that he might humble you and put you to test, to see what was in your heart and if you would obey Him or not.

Humility: Letting God be in controlIn a wilderness situation, who but God can provide for our needs, protect us from our enemies and deal with our impossible situations?–Food : manna (Exodus 16:35)–Drink: from a rock (Exodus 17:6)–Enemies: God defeats them (Exodus 3:8)–Sickness: God heals them (Numbers 21:9)–Obstacles: parting of the Red sea (Exodus 13:18)–Trails: God delivers (Exodus, Numbers)–Weaknesses: God helps us overcome (Exodus 4: 10-11)

We realize that it is not our abilities and resources but God’s strength and providence we must rely on.

By Humbling us God makes us know He is in control• The difficult situation allows us to understand that God is in control.• We begin to understand that being in the Wilderness is also being in

the center of God’s plan.

• We are in the Wilderness because God has allowed us to be there. • We are in the current phase of God’s plan for our lives, which is

relevant to God’s overall design.

Put to test: being molded and prepared for His work

James 1:2 ¶Let it be all joy to you, my brothers, when you undergo tests of every sort;

3 Because the testing of your faith gives patience;4 And when patience has its full effect, you may be

made perfect and complete, needing nothing.

What is in our heart: Getting our motives, intents and purposes right

• Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

• Psalms 44:21 Shall not God search this out? for he knows the secrets of the heart.

• Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

What is in our heart: Getting our motives, intents and purposes right

• Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

• Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful…..and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

• Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Obedience: accepting and enjoying God’s will and grand plan

1 Samuel 15:22 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.

Deuteronomy 8:2 And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, and to prove to you what was in your heart, WHETHER you would obey Him or NOT.

The Wilderness

• Is a time for making us know God is in control• Is a period to mould and prepare us for His work• Is a way to clear our motives, intents and purposes• Is a method to make us accept and enjoy God’s will

The wilderness experience will help us be a blessing to others and the next generation.

Final words

Deuteronomy 8: 5 Keep in mind this thought, that as a son is trained by his father, so you have been trained by the Lord your God.

6 Then keep the orders of the Lord your God, fearing him and walking in his ways.

Blessings

7 For the Lord your God is guiding you into a good land, a land of water-springs, of fountains, and deep streams flowing out from the valleys and the hills;

8 A land of grain and vines and fig-trees and fair fruits; a land of oil-giving olive-trees and honey

Blessings: Laura StoryWe pray for blessingsWe pray for peaceComfort for family, protection while we sleepWe pray for healing, for prosperityWe pray for Your mighty hand to ease our sufferingAll the while, You hear each spoken needYet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindropsWhat if Your healing comes through tearsWhat if a thousand sleepless nightsAre what it takes to know You're nearWhat if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdomYour voice to hearAnd we cry in anger when we cannot feel You nearWe doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your loveAs if every promise from Your Word is not enoughAll the while, You hear each desperate pleaAnd long that we have faith to believe

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindropsWhat if Your healing comes through tearsWhat if a thousand sleepless nightsAre what it takes to know You're nearAnd what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray usWhen darkness seems to winWe know that pain reminds this heartThat this is not, this is not our homeIt's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindropsWhat if Your healing comes through tearsAnd what if a thousand sleepless nightsAre what it takes to know You're nearWhat if my greatest disappointmentsOr the aching of this lifeIs the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfyAnd what if trials of this lifeThe rain, the storms, the hardest nightsAre Your mercies in disguise