THE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE

Spending time in the wilderness is nothing new to Christians. There are times when it seems everything is going great in our lives. There are other times when it seems everything that could go wrong goes wrong. It is during these times we feel we are marching across a desert without water, no shade and just dust and heat. We feel isolated and alone. We need to understand one thing. In the life of a believer, God has a purpose for allowing us to go through a “wilderness experience.” I will share with you three of my own personal “wilderness experiences.” One of my “worst wilderness experiences” came to me in August of 1996. I was diagnosed with cancer and it seemed that time stood still. It was hard for me to focus on anything except I had cancer. I felt so alone even though I knew that I had God, a multitude of Christian friends and family that were standing by me and supporting me. No one could walk this path for me. My turn had come to be tested” on the backside of the desert. This was a time that I had to literally walk by faith. I did not know if I was going to live or die. All I knew was that God had a plan and purpose for my life that I could not see at the moment.

Another wilderness experience came when my husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2001. At the time we had been married for almost 44 years. I could not fathom losing him. I asked God to heal him but God did not heal him. My husband took his heavenly flight to heaven on March 31, 2004. I was at peace knowing his suffering was over and he was in a better place and free from all suffering. Yet, I still had agonizing pain in my heart and felt so alone. I wondered how I could go on without him. I put my faith and trust in God and started taking one day at a time. Each day got a little easier. Six months after his death, Hurricane Ivan came roaring into our area. Its effect was total devastation. I didn’t know where to begin or how to deal with all this chaos. All of my friends, neighbors and family members were dealing with their own problems and devastation. I prayed for wisdom and knowledge to help me make the right decisions. There are always “scammers” that come pouring into areas that are hard hit by hurricanes, tornados and flood. God helped me make all the right decisions.

Hurricane Dennis came roaring into our area just 9 months after Hurricane Ivan. My yard looked like a bomb had been dropped on it. There were trees on the ground everywhere. To compound my “wilderness experience,” my brother in law died on the very day Hurricane Dennis hit our area. Now, I had a funeral of a loved one to attend in the midst of all this turmoil. It took a crew from Arkansas two days just to remove the trees that had been blown down in my yard. When Dennis was done, it would go down as one of the most powerful events in the month of July 2005 with 150 mph winds at its peak. I wondered where God was in all this mess. I found myself sitting in a lawn chair in my back yard feeling totally stunned, overwhelmed, isolated and alone. Tears flowed easily.  I knew my husband would know exactly what to do and I didn’t have a clue. Oh, how I missed him and his ability to comfort me in stressful times and make the right decisions. I was reminded of the story of Job. He lost everything in one day. He was stricken with painful boils. Yet, Job continued to trust God. For Job’s obedience, trust and faith God restored to him more in the end than he had in the beginning.

THE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE

Part 2

In the Bible, the number 40 always represents God testing man. Moses spent the first 40 years of his life in Pharaoh’s palace as a Prince over Egypt. One day he killed an Egyptian soldier and had to flee for his life. (Exodus 2:11-15) NIV He wound up on the backside of the desert tending his father in law’s sheep. (Exodus 3:1) KJV Moses stayed in the desert for 40 years. (Acts 7:30) KJV He went from being a Prince over Egypt to being a poor shepherd taking care of sheep. During this time God taught Moses to be a leader and a servant for Him. At the end of these 40 years, God called him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. (Exodus 3:10) KJV Moses spent the next 40 years of his life wandering around in the desert leading a group of complaining people. This was a progression of  “learning” and “testing” for Moses. During this time God gave Moses the Ten Commandments for the nation of Israel on Mt. Sinai. (Exodus 20:1-17) KJV

There is one thing that we can count on and that is God does nothing in the believer’s life that does not have a purpose in it. Keep in mind that Moses went from living in a palatial palace to living in the desert with sheep. He was also working for someone else. No doubt Moses probably had accepted the fact that he would spend the rest of his life in the desert-tending sheep. But, God had a plan and purpose for Moses.

·        The first 40 years, Moses learned to be somebody.

·        The second 40 years, Moses learned to be a nobody.

·        The last 40 years, Moses learned to help everybody.

What is the greatest temptation that faces Christians in a long time in the wilderness? It is the danger to drift slowly from the Lord. It begins slowly and then begins to mushroom out of control if it isn’t checked. God is right there with us when we are going through a “wilderness experience.” God tests our faith during these times. He is training and developing character in us. If we find ourselves on the backside of the desert and it is not for sinful reasons, then we can rejoice because God is preparing us for something that only we are able to accomplish because of His special preparation in our lives.

I started a ladies Bible study group after my bout with cancer. I did not want to do it. I had never taught a class of any kind in my life. I gave God all kind of excuses on why I was not the one to lead a Bible study group. Then the Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance a scripture. “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? And I said, here I am, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8) KJV I said, “Yes, Lord I will go and be your servant in whatever you want me to do.” I am thankful for all of my wilderness experiences and for obeying God for His calling on my life. My life has been greatly blessed and enriched by the multitude of women that God has allowed to cross my path in our Bible study group over the years.

THE ROOSTER THAT MADE HISTORY

Roosters hold special memories for me. I grew up out in the country on a farm and we always had a rooster that crowed early every morning seven days a week. He never failed to crow. He was our alarm clock. He crowed at approximately 5 o’clock every morning. He was letting us know that the night was just about over and a new day was dawning.

God has used the animal kingdom to do mighty things. He used a donkey to carry our Savior into Jerusalem. (Matthew 21:2-7) NIV He used a great fish to swallow Jonah for his disobedience. (Jonah 1:17) NIV God used a donkey to speak to Balaam. (Numbers 22:28-30) NIV Jesus and His disciples began what would be His final journey to Jerusalem. On the way they stopped in Capernaum. Evidently, Jesus had not yet paid the “temple tax.” The “temple tax” was a tax given annually by every Jewish male over 20 years of age for maintaining the temple. This “temple tax” was based on (Exodus 30:13-16) NIV It is never recorded that Jesus carried any money and so He instructed Peter to go fishing and keep the first fish he caught. Do you know what was in the mouth of that fish? There was a coin, which Peter used to pay the “temple tax” for Jesus and himself. (Matthew 17: 24-27) KJV

God used a rooster that made history. Jesus told Peter that “before” the rooster crowed three times on the night of His betrayal and arrest that Peter would deny knowing Him three times. (Matthew 26:34) KJV Pete was adamant that he would never deny knowing Christ. Now, this was just an ordinary rooster. He didn’t try to bark, sing like a bird, or bray like a donkey. Crowing was the only thing he knew to do. Jesus was arrested and brought before Caiaphas, the high priest. Peter waited outside while Christ was being spit on, hit with fists and slapped. During the night Peter was asked three times if he knew Christ and three times he said no. On the third denial, immediately the rooster crowed and Peter remembered what Jesus had told him. He went out and wept bitterly.  (Matthew 26:75) KJV

The job of the rooster was not considered in this world to be important. The rooster crowing was a common thing. We may think what little we do is a common thing and it goes un-noticed, but it doesn’t. The rooster was not ashamed. He didn’t care who heard him…. a king, a poor man, or whoever; it was all the same to him. The lesson here is that we learn that we don’t have to do what others do. We don’t have to try and be like someone else. We do what we can do because everyone is different. When we became Christians, we did not become spiritual robots

The rooster was faithful. He crowed whether he felt like it or not, in season or out of season. He didn’t care if it was raining, cold or hot weather. The job of the rooster wasn’t too popular. His job was to wake people up early in the morning. No doubt, some people may not have liked hearing a rooster crowing that early in the morning. He crowed anyway. Our job is to wake up people to sin in their lives and this is not always popular. But it’s the job God wants us to do. The rooster did his job well and left the rest to God. As Christians, we need to do what God has called us to do and don’t worry about the details. Leave the rest to God.

THE SHOUT OF A FORGIVEN MAN

Forgiveness is an emotion that defies description. It is the relief of an enormous burden lifted, of a debt canceled, of a conscience at rest. Guilt is gone and peace is enjoyed. To King David, it meant the forgiveness of his great transgressions that he had tried to hide and the cleansing of his spirit from deceit. David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and plotted the death of her husband Uriah. He steadfastly refused to confess his sins. He tried to sweep it all under the rug.  Maybe he thought that “time would heal” everything. He became a physical wreck. Nothing seemed to work out right for him anymore.

What happened? David’s conscience started to bother him. Physically, mentally and spiritually David was wasting away because of his un-confessed sins. He was under great distress. He finally came to the place in his life where he dealt with his sins. David made a full confession of his sins to God and asked for forgiveness. He came totally clean with the Lord. David opened his heart to God in transparent honesty and held nothing back. He poured out his heart to God and he was forgiven. This was the first step in achieving spiritual contentment.

David wrote Psalm Chapter 32. While David was trying to hide his sins, the worry and fear that he would be found out took a physical toll on his body. He wrote that “God’s hand was heavy” upon him. (Psalm 32:4) NIV This is a reference to God’s chastisement He became like an old man physically. He finally came to the place where he was willing to acknowledge his sins & confess his transgressions to the Lord. (Psalm 32:5) NIV The one who had been so hard and impenitent is now contrite and broken. With deep gratitude he acknowledges that God is his “hiding place.” Whether we like it or not, there is a heavy spiritual and physical price to pay for un-confessed sins in our lives.

David could talk about “joy” in his life by the end of Psalm chapter 32. He had experienced relief after being burdened with the terrible sins in his life. He was able to worship and praise the Lord again. Why? He solved his “sin problem” the right way. He told the truth about his sins and cast them down before the Lord. He got it into the open and God forgave him.

David was a man of faith despite all his weaknesses, fears, doubts and sins. His life illustrates a trust in God and an intense desire to know Him. Because of these qualities, God was able to use David mightily, molding and shaping him into “A man after His own heart.” (Acts 13:22) KJV

Various people have various problems. We all have our own sad problems of pain, heartache, suffering, and trouble. While it is true that we all have burdens, which vary from person to person, there is one common denominator. There is one reality with which we all struggle day by day. We all must deal with “sin.” There are only two ways to deal with sin, man’s way or God’s way. If we deal with sin man’s way, we will try to hide it. When we handle our sins God’s way, then it is handled correctly. It will cease to bring pain and destruction into our lives & we will experience spiritual contentment.