"Wilderness", literally means a desert and it implies a place of solitude, lonesomeness, waste and desolation. It is the passage to the Promised Land from the land of Bondage. The Wilderness is the place between being called and being empowered.
The wilderness is not a curse. It is part and parcel of God"s plan for his Children. The wilderness is not as a result of disobedience. God took the Israelites out of Egypt to take them into a land flowing with milk and honey, but they had to go through the wilderness to get there. It was God himself who led them by way of the wilderness; and he had a purpose for doing that. What of Jesus Christ our Lord? Jesus was in the perfect will of God. He never disobeyed God. Like the Israelites, he too was led into the wilderness by God!
The children of Israel could not enter the Promised Land until after they had passed through the wilderness. The purpose of the wilderness is to prepare us for the things God has prepared for us. Let"s look at the characteristics of the wilderness. Our key scripture for this is Deuteronomy 8.
1. God them for forty years in the wilderness. The wilderness experience is not supposed to be forever. In actual fact, the journey through the wilderness was supposed to have been just for forty days! Israel spent forty years because they were always moaning, murmuring, and complaining. One of the things that keep people in the wilderness longer than they should is disobedience. You always repeat a class when you fail your tests. Is your wilderness lasting forever? Check these things - your attitude, your response, your obedience, your confession.
2. It is a place of humbling. You will go through experiences that will humble you. Let Him to exalt you, don"t try to exalt yourself. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. To be humble means to "come under".
3. It is a place of testing. The Israelites were tested in the wilderness to know what was in their hearts, whether they would obey God or not.
4. It is a place where God himself feeds you; a place of "dependence". The process of growth is from dependence to independence and interdependence. In the wilderness, unlike in the Promised Land; the Israelites didn"t harvest because they didn"t sow. They didn"t take initiatives. Many Christians would testify that things were just happening "cheaply" for them when they just got born again; this is one of the reasons for that! When you come into maturity, you come into a place of interdependence. God depends on you as much as you depend on Him. He needs you to go win souls, He needs you to pray.
5. It is a place of "Just Enough". They were to gather just enough manna for each day; If you pass your tests in the wilderness, you move from "just enough" to "more than enough", in the Promised Land
6. It is a place of discipline. In the wilderness you are trained or disciplined to live on just enough, so that when you come into the land of abundance you will know how to manage wealth.
God did not lead the Israelites by a shorter route, he chose to lead them through the wilderness, People who don"t go through the wilderness don"t last in anything they do. God wants you not only to run, but to finish your race! People who don"t go through the wilderness never get trained or disciplined for what lies ahead of them.
It is not enough to go through the wilderness; you must let the purpose of the wilderness be fulfilled in your life. You must come out humble, you must pass your tests, you must be trained and disciplined, you must learn to absolutely depend on God. Don"t stay in your wilderness longer than necessary. And a word of advice, now that you know you must go through wilderness; don"t wait for it to be thrust upon you. Decide to go into the wilderness yourself! Don"t wait to be humbled; humble yourself under God"s mighty hand. Discipline yourself; train your senses to discern between good and evil.
WISDOM KEY:The purpose of the wilderness is to prepare us for the things God has prepared for us
SCRIPTURE READING: "But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”" 1 Cor. 2:9
PERONAL APPLICATION: Am I passing my tests as I go through the wilderness or do I find myself re-taking them?
