Are you in a ‘desert season?’ Have you been waiting on the fulfillment of a promise past the point of all reason and human hope? Do you feel trapped in your circumstances? Are you suffering lack? Sickness? Weariness?
Do not lose heart! Stoke the embers in your heart and fan them ablaze with passion again.
Encourage yourself in The Lord.
‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven’ -Ecclesiastes 3:1
Remember the Israelites and their journey out of bondage and slavery through the desert, and the battles they fought to take possession of the promised land.
If you remember, Joshua and Caleb were the only men of their generation permitted to go into the promised land after the Israelites wandered and were tested in the desert for 40 years.
2 out of a likely 2.5 million people. Not good odds!!!
‘But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his council. In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.’
-Psalm 106:13-15
I’m pondering my life and holding it up to the light of the Word this morning.
Does my life more closely resemble the spies that spread a false report? The people that accepted the false report as truth? The impatient, grumbling, idol worshipping, giving into cravings and not waiting on the council of God, Israelites?
Or is my life a life of faith and rest, like that of Joshua and Caleb, the men that believed God and had confidence that what He promised would come to pass; that they would be able to accomplish what God said they could?
How we see God, what we believe about his character, and whether or not we take him at his word, colors how we view our life and the world around us.
‘Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed…..
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’
-Hebrew 4:1-2; 15-16
No problem. Thank you for reading. I am enjoying getting a glimpse into the lives of other bloggers through reading their posts. Keep up the good work!
Oh wow! For some reason I just came across this comment. Thank you! I love that verse and it is a great encouragement to me every time I see it.
God bless you. Have a great weekend.
Thanks. I so needed to hear this. “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:45)
God bless you too. I was re-reading this post today and realized I hadn’t responded. I want to be like Joshua and Caleb too. I don’t want to spend my whole life wandering around in the desert. I determined to continue to rise up out of the ashes of my past and have everything Christ died for me to have, do everything God prepared for me to do, and be the person God created me to be.
Emily, excellent thoughts. I adore that passage from Hebrews. I meditate on that rest a lot. You asked, “Or is my life a life of faith and rest, like that of Joshua and Caleb?” That’s exactly how I want my life to be. Like Joshua and Caleb. Trusting God and resting in His provision for everything in my life. Another great, and well-written, post with great thoughts that make me think and ponder my own life. Posts like this one of yours are among the best I read, because you make me think. Thank you and God bless.
Amen! Let’s press in and go get it! 🙂
And your blog today has challenged me to go on a fast. Its been far to long since my last one!
I feel like I am (hopefully!) coming out of a long wilderness season too. The wilderness is where fleshly ambition dies and holy ambition rises. The difference between Caleb and Joshua vs. the rest is that they kept their eyes on the bigness of God and not the problems at hand. I feel challenged to do likewise!! Great blog 🙂
Very timely. Thank you for sharing.