ARE YOU IN A WILDERNESS, Pt 2, No. 514
ARE YOU IN A WILDERNESS?
Part 2
“Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness,
so that they lacked nothing;
their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell”
(Nehemiah 9:21).
When our daughter, Evangeline, gave birth to her eighth baby, she wanted to call her Sahara. At first her husband did not like the idea of calling her after the name of a desert. However, as they thought of all the mighty things that God does in the desert, they realized that it was an amazing name to call their child and they decided on the name of Sahara Oasis.
We continue to discover more wonderful surprises you will encounter in your wilderness experience. Claim these great promises. Lean on them. Confess them. Believe them.
- GOD DID NOT FORSAKE HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS
Do you feel that God has forgotten you?
Be encouraged by these words: “They refused to listen, and did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them; so they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. And You did not forsake them. Even when they made for themselves a calf of molten metal and said, ‘This is your God Who brought you up from Egypt,’ and committed great blasphemies, You, in your great compassion, did not forsake them in the wilderness“ (Nehemiah 9:17-19 NASB).
Dear daughter of God, as you face trials and difficulties in your life, remember that God’s word is always true. You can claim this promise. He will not forsake you in your wilderness.
- GOD MANIFESTED HIS PRESENCE IN THE WILDERNESS
The children of Israel had no shops, no marketplaces, no modern conveniences, and no lush fields to grow vegetables and yet God dwelt in their midst. In the tabernacle, which was in the center of the camp, God dwelt between the cheribims in the Holy of Holies in all His Shekinah glory. The children of Israel could look out at night and see the pillar of fire rising from above the Holy of Holies.
When they completed the tabernacle God came and filled it with His glory. This happened at other times too. They were privileged to see the glory of God in the wilderness (Exodus 40:34-38 and Numbers 14:10).
God said in Exodus 25:8: “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”
God said in Exodus 29:42-46: “I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory . . . And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.”
Are you in a the “howling wilderness” that Deuteronomy 32:10 talks about? Look to your God. He will manifest His presence to you too.
- GOD KNEW HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS
Deuteronomy 2:7: “He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee.”
Hosea 13:5: “I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.” God intimately knows what you are going through. He never leaves you.
- GOD KEPT HIS PEOPLE AS “THE APPLE OF HIS EYE” IN THE WILDERNESS
The description of “the apple of his eye” in Deuteronomy 32:10 reveals God’s tender care for His people. The pupil is the most sensitive part of the eye. Even in the worst times, the “desolate howling wilderness,” God tenderly watched over His people. The HCSB says: “He found him in a desolate land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded (encircled) him, cared for him, and protected him as the pupil of his eye.”
When you go through your wilderness experiences God encircles you and watches over you with tender care. You may not feel His presence but you can count on it!
- GOD SUSTAINED HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS
Nehemiah 9:21 testifies: “Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness.” God will sustain you too.
- GOD CARRIED HIS PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS
Deuteronomy 1:31: “And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went.” God carried His people all the way through the wilderness. Not once did He let them down until He brought them to the Promised Land.
I love the Knox translation: “Your own eyes have witnessed how the LORD your God carried you through the desert as a man carries his little son.” Isn’t that so beautiful? You are God’s little daughter and He is carrying you through your wilderness.
- GOD GIVES GRACE IN THE WILDERNESS
Jeremiah 31:2: “Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness.” How did God show His favor and kindness? By giving them rest. This is also a rest in God for you in your wilderness.
More SURPRISES next week.
PRAYER:
“Dear Father, I thank You that You are the God of the wilderness. This is where You love to manifest Your power and Your presence. I thank You that I can experience Your power and presence, even in my “terrible” wilderness. Amen.”
AFFIRMATION:
I am triumphing even in my “terrible” wilderness.