Exiting the Wilderness: God's Plan For Us to Repent, Conquer, and Prosper

Restoration

Introduction:

CROSSING HARDSHIPS ON OUR PATH TO DESTINY

We all want the good life. The perception of what that looks like is different in each individual's mind. We pray that God gives us a peaceful journey to success. We desire that our rise to prosperity is one of grace. In our minds, we have it all mapped out and expect things to go the way that we planned it with no hiccups along the way. In most cases it never does. As a matter of fact, we all face challenges on the road to our destiny that test our resolve. Some of us wish we could trade in our hardships for a life of serenity. Many of us have probably asked ourselves, If God loves me then why do all these bad things happen in life? If I told you it was no coincidence that all of us experience this, would you believe me? Some of our hardships are purposely placed in our lives by God to test what is in our hearts and then turn them towards him. Those roadblocks, setbacks, disasters, or whatever name you choose to give it, all have a purpose. The purpose is to draw us closer to the God who created us. The basis…He loves us.

Depending on what we believe, we may all draw different conclusions regarding the purpose of the hardships, particularly when it comes to God. In many cases, hardships can make it difficult for us to see God properly depending on our attitude and understanding of him. More critically, our own self-made philosophies have a way of separating us from God altogether. We can avoid that atrocity by using the privileges of prayer and scripture to develop an authentic relationship with God. That is why he gave them to us; so that we would come to know him personally and intimately. However, if we chose to disregard these practices then ultimately we begin to live life based on assumptions. The next thing we know, we have a misinterpreted understanding of God causing us to live our lives according to those false ideas. Hence, God allows for us to go through wilderness experiences so we can know him better.

The children of Israel were sent into the wilderness by God's hand after being freed from slavery under Egyptian rule. (Exodus 15:22-26). They were no stranger to hardship. The Pharaoh, out of cruelty and prejudice, put the Israelites through extreme stress and mistreatment. Even with the miracles done by God through the hands of Moses, Pharaoh was reluctant to release the nation from slavery. Over time, the weight of God's power forced Pharaoh to release Israel. Once he did, God led them right into the wilderness. Their initial migration into the wilderness was not for punishment. It was for sanctification and learning purposes. They were purposely tested by God in the wilderness because he wanted to see what was in their heart and then correct them (Deuteronomy 8:2). After 400 years of slavery, God chose to release Israel from bondage by way of his divine sovereignty. However, he would have to execute a peculiar strategy to teach his people about Him, about themselves, and about his plans. This was necessary because their identity had been stripped from them and they did not have a clue who they were as individuals or as a nation. In addition, they did not know who God was. The concept of the wilderness was for God to introduce himself to his people and for them to develop faith. Faith is the cornerstone of our relationship with God.

For many of us, the lessons we have learned through our life experiences and observations have given us a flawed perception of God. Sometimes our cultural differences can bring us to different view points about who God is. In conjunction, when we come into a personal relationship with God, we discover that many of our beliefs or assumptions about life don't align with his teachings. Each of us were conditioned differently in our upbringing, so our paths to truth are all different. Collectively, our society struggles with perceiving God's word as truth. Yet, many still wrestle with the questions like, why does God allow bad things to happen? or why are hard times continually upon me? In order for us to understand these questions, we must first come to know our God. His reasoning for allowing us to go through tribulation is plain and written in scriptures of the bible. However, for us to fully understand the tests that we endure, we need to understand God's thoughts towards us. The term wilderness is biblically synonymous with a time of great testing and difficulty. Also, the wilderness is necessary for you and I to achieve our destiny. We will cover several scriptures that unveil God's purpose behind putting us in wilderness-like circumstances.

Before we explore the in-depth spiritual nature of the wilderness and its intent, it is important that we come into a deeper understanding about the mind of God. As we begin to learn of him, many of us will come into the realization that our philosophies are far off from his. When we all come to a universal understanding of God's thoughts and intentions, we'll be able to also understand the reasons behind our times of tribulation. We will also learn how to come out of our seasons of trials gracefully with God's hand upon our lives.

Knowing God comes with maturity. It also comes with humility. We have to be mature and humble enough to look past our obstacles in life in order to understand how The Lord is working. Some of life's hardships can cause frustration or a misconception of what God is doing. Frustration can breed anger, and anger can breed pride. Pride makes it almost impossible for us to obey. The first generation of Israel struggled with this. They were always upset. If they weren't upset with God, they were upset with Moses and Aaron. If they weren't upset with Moses or Aaron, they were upset with God (study Exodus and Numbers). Their inability to understand what God was doing led them to become impatient and disgruntled. They soon lost their hope, consequently causing them to lose their faith. With faith gone, they were unable to complete their task and God was unable to use them. They were then forced to remain in the wilderness for 40 years and ultimately miss their destiny.

God wants to bless us. In order to overcome the hardships we experience in life, we must come to that understanding. Without knowing or believing that, we will incorrectly question God or come to doubt him altogether. The children of Israel began to question whether or not God existed when times got difficult. They had forgotten about the numerous amount of miracles The Lord had done for them previously. They did not reflect enough on what he had done and they also stopped believing in his promises. It happens to us too. We are not exempt. When we fail to slow down and reflect on the great deeds that God has already done for us, we can easily get caught up in doubting his existence. In most cases, when things go bad we have a tendency to question God's whereabouts. It is during the times of testing where we have to discipline ourselves to remember the good things that God has already done in our past. This is the very reason The Lord continues to remind the 2nd the generation of Israel to not forget who he is. He reminded them that he was the one who gave them the ability to create wealth (Deuteronomy 8: 18). He did not want them making the same mistakes the 1st generation did. Our faith in God helps us see him beyond his invisibility. God knows that our human nature teaches us to only believe what we see. His purpose for the wilderness is for us to develop faith, which helps us believe on those things which we cannot see; ultimately him.

God operates through spiritual wisdom. For those of us who lack it, it is impossible for us to know God. Spiritual wisdom gives us the ability to see God regardless of circumstances. It is given to us by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual wisdom helps us to discern spiritual matters as it relates to God and his plan. 1st Corinthians 2:14-16 state this.

" 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ (NKJV)."

The scripture speaks of two kinds of people; those who walk with God and those who don't. Those who walk with God can discern events, times, and circumstances. They are able to articulate what God is doing and what he is saying. They are able to look at natural events and discern the spiritual call of God behind them. In addition, they will move to action because they know God. Even in the event of calamity, the spirit of God will guide them to peace and safety. On the flip side, those who don't walk with God will only see things at the surface. The spirit of apathy will cause them to stand still and they will not discern the voice of God. When God is mentioned in connection with any event, they will scoff at the idea and dismiss God altogether. As the scripture notes, the thought of God is foolish to the natural man who lacks spiritual wisdom. The natural man or woman are those who walk according to their own understanding and disregard the ways of God. This gives them a wilderness mindset because their way of thinking leaves them trapped and unable to move forward. When storms or trying times come upon them they become bitter and begin complaining. Their lack of spiritual awareness cause them to make bad judgments only worsening their condition. The spiritual man or woman are those who walk according to the principles of God. They abandon their own understanding and they take on a heaven's mentality which ultimately delivers them to a place of peace and success because they trust in God even in the midst of hardships. Their judgments are always righteous and correct.

The difference between the first generation of Israel under Moses and the second generation of Israel under Joshua was simply spiritual wisdom. The foundation of spiritual wisdom is faith. The spiritual wisdom of God is key when it comes to fulfilling destiny and maintaining perfect peace. The second generation of Israel made it in to the promised land of Canaan because they trusted God. The first generation lacked faith and because they did not trust God they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and ended up stalling out their mission. Faithlessness in times of adversity means unproductiveness. Trust me! This is not what God wants for us no matter how grim things may seem. As we journey through the pages of this book, you will see theological and practical evidence that proves God allows us to experience adversity to draw us closer to him.

The pages of this book are for the believer and skeptics alike. For the believer it will bring encouragement and remind us how to stand in seasons of testing and distress. It will give further insight into how God works and how he thinks. The Lord reminds us in Isaiah 55:8;"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD (NKJV). That scripture is so true, but we are able to know the Lord's thoughts when we seek him through spiritual wisdom. What did 1st Corinthians 2:16 say? It said we have the mind of Christ. The 66 books of the bible cannot fully contain the infinite nature of God, but when pick it up and read it we begin to tap into the mindset of our Lord and Savior. It's the primary source used for us to pick his brain on some of the loftiest subject matter. The scripture from Isaiah 55 is true. Sometimes we cannot fully answer the questions behind why The Lord allows certain things to take place, but when we seek him in humility and purpose our hearts to know him he will give us insight to mysteries that have yet to be revealed. Proverbs 25:2 says It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. To the skeptic, this book will plant seeds that I pray will sprout into spiritual wisdom and leave clues that will lead them strait to the throne of God. No matter where the reader is in their spiritual walk, when reading this book they will learn how to cling to God while enduring adversity. Finally, they will also come into a deeper understanding of why The Lord brings us into the sufferings of wilderness seasons and how he wants to bring us out and then bless us.

Section I. God's Purpose for the Wilderness

Chapter 1:

Perilous Times and Wilderness Seasons

Deuteronomy 8:2- And you shall remember all the ways which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, to test you, and to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not

When I first started reading God's word as a student-athlete at the University of Miami, it was foreign and hard for me to understand. I grew up in church, but that was only because my mother and grandmother forced me to go. I had not made The Lord my own God as an adolescent. Like many people, I disregarded the parts of the bible that were too hard to comprehend. I took what I could from it. I would go to our campus bible studies with my head full of questions. I wanted to know where in the bible did it state we could not have sex until we were married? I wanted to understand why God allowed bad things to happen? I wanted to know if God was even real at all and if he was, how could I talk to him? How was I supposed to know what the one who possibly created me actually wanted or expected from me? This was far before I actually realized that our trust and obedience in God's word actually determined the course of our lives whether good or bad. In all honesty, I saw the Old Testament as irrelevant. I took the parts of the New Testament that I could bare and applied them to my life, but I did not take the entire text literally. I even convinced myself that not knowing everything was perfectly fine. I walked around with the thought that God would not hold me accountable for the things that I did not know. Then, a very simple concept occurred to me and I begin to see the bible as more than just old text.

If you neglect to inform a child about the concept of fire and they go and touch a flame, they are going to get burned whether or not