Encouragement In Dry Times July 7, 2009
Posted by stevensc in Decision Making, Growth.Tags: abraham, dry times, Elijah, Elisha, encouragement, Gideon, hard times, John, moses, Paul Jesus, Peter, wilderness
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We’ve all been there. We know these seasons will come. Its easy to talk about heroes of the Bible and how they went through “the wilderness”, yet it becomes a whole other ball game when you find yourself as the lead character in the story.
During this time, if you were completely honest, you’ll find that you have gone through an entire spectrum of emotions. You felt confused and wondered if you did something wrong for God to punish you by sending you into the wilderness. You felt scared when even your best attempts to get out wasn’t enough. You felt hopeless when time passed but nothing changed.
It’s during this time that God will try to teach you several things:
- You must learn to depend on Him for supply and not other people. When the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness, God supplied manna and quail. When Elijah was hiding in the wilderness, God sent a raven to feed him. When Jesus went into the wilderness, angels attended to his needs and ministered unto him. When the soon to be King, David had a small band of men hiding in the wilderness, God moved the hearts of other people to provide beds, food, and pots for wine and water.
As Americans, we are so immersed in a theology of wealth and prosperity that we assume God always wants to advance us financially and occupationally. While I do believe that God is a God of prosperity, I also believe that God is also the God of the poor. Paul said that he knew how to live on a little and how to live with much. I have learned that advancement in the workplace comes ONLY through the grace of God. As God moves the hearts of others, your advancement will take place. But God only does this when you prove that your heart is to seek him above all riches during the wilderness season.
2. God is still the God of the dry places. Have you ever noticed that the Spirit of God was always the one that sent people of the Bible into the wilderness? It’s in this dry place that you see God more clearly. His voice is able to be discerned more without all the distractions of normal life. It was here that the great men and women of the Bible emerged into the heroes we now remember. Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Gideon, Peter, Paul, Jesus, John, and many others have walked this path that you are now on. Every one of them found the Holy Spirit as a true comfort and friend. Perhaps they never would have experienced this side of God anywhere else other than the vast, dry wilderness. But if God is indeed the God of the wilderness, and he is the one that sent you to this dry place, then obviously you’re not here because you did something wrong, but God has set an appointment with you. It is here that He wants you to see what you’ve been missing for so long.
So be encouraged today man and woman of God! This dessert will not last forever. And with God watching over even the dry places of your life, you’ll not only survive, but emerge stronger and closer to God than you’ve ever been.
Check out some past blog entries that may help you get through these dry times:
The One Thing God Wants From You February 19, 2009
Posted by stevensc in Decision Making, Growth, church.Tags: Christian, church, confused, desert, direction, disappointment, dispair, God, hard times, heartache, Jesus, job, john 6:29, lost, purpose, sovereign, wilderness, winter
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Life sure doesn’t always go the way you planned. The longer I live, the more I realize that God’s purpose for me will play itself out. It won’t come one day sooner that He has willed it. We could all rest a little better at night if we would begin to trust in the complete sovereignty of God. Too often, we can find ourselves wondering what MY PURPOSE in life is. What has God created me for? Am I doing his will? Did I miss my chance? You feel that life has shifted out of gear and into neutral.
Some of you reading this truly understand what living in the winter season feels like. At the most crucial points thoughts begin to ring louder and louder in your ears. You begin to question if all the heartache and disappointment are worth it. You begin to despise the church’s religious side. You get frustrated with doors that have been slammed in your face. Patience has not just wained thin, but has become non-existant. Before long, you begin to almost prefer the life of little or no responsibilities. The world’s goals of mediocrity feel less painful and thus more appealing. The battle rages in your mind every day as wonder about God’s “supposed” presence in your life.
But if you step back to look at the big picture, you’ll realize that God has been with you all along. Even when you were in sin, He never give up on you. Blessings still come in your life (health, bills being paid, food on the table, cars to drive, family, etc.). So who has allowed your life to be protected? Who has allowed to have all that you still have? A SOVERIGN GOD! Who has been there to accept you back after each time you willingly and knowingly sinned? A SOVEREIGN GOD!
He does it because you ARE chosen. You DO have a purpose, and its much more than your career. It’s much more than the position you hold in the church. He has more for you, but everything will come in His time. He wants to take you out of the wilderness and into the promised land, but he would not be doing you any favors of allowing you to possess the next level if your character is not ready to handle it.
So take a deep breath. Read this scripture, rest in HIS SOVEREIGNTY, and let faith rise up. Your best days are still ahead.
“Jesus told them, ‘This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29 NLT
