Ex13:17 When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” NLT
THE RIGHT MINDSET
I once listened to a preacher who opined that believers who face life's challenges are at fault. I was taken aback that a preacher of his calibre could say that to his parishioners most of whom might take his statement to mean their problems are self-inflicted whereas it is not so in all cases.
Some persons have built their evangelistic sermons around this unbiblical ideology. They present to people that the christian life is bread and butter. Little wonder why we have persons who turn their backs against God in times of crisis. They came to Jesus with the wrong mindset. Somehow, we all will have an experience of what it is to walk in the wilderness of life at least, for a season. The intensity might differ but there is no escaping it.
Anytime I read the story on how the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness, I keep learning about God's sovereignty in the affairs of men. They had great expectations from God about their deliverance. Their gaze was fixed on the land flowing with milk and honey. They dreamt about it, talked about it and even taught their kids about it.
When the time came, they thought God would lead them straight into the land he promised them but ge decided to do otherwise. There was a shorter route to the promised land which would take three days but God decided to lead them through another route in the wilderness that would take about 40 days. Sometimes, God doesn't always lead through the shorter route.
God is so powerful. He can answer all your prayers in a few seconds, he can make your life the envy of all. Instead of going through the trials of life, he can fight that battle without you feeling the effect. In all of these, it amazes me why God doesn't act immediately sometimes.
In that dark hour, you might be saying: 'God, why are you silent? Can't you see how I've prayed and fasted for years on the same matter'? Just as God didn't lead the Israelites on a straight path that could have led them into the promised land in three days, God may not lead you into the fulfillment of your desires in a hurry.
In God's plan for our lives, he is not in a hurry. He is a God of precept and plan. God is not just interested in result but in the process that produces result. The wilderness season is that season of trials, waiting, pruning and processing.
It is God's grand design for any man of destiny to have his own fair share of the wilderness training. Jesus couldn't start ministry until He was prepared by God for his assignment in the wilderness (Matthew4:1-3). It was the Spirit of God that led him there.
Joseph's trials were his own wilderness experience because God was preparing him for the throne. In fact, the Bible made it clear that it was God's word that tried him(Psalm105:19). So God knew about his ordeal. The delay of Abraham was not a demonic attack, it was known to God and He allowed it to be so for a reason.
Whoever told you that you won't go through the wilderness has lied to you. Jesus never promised us a life without challenges but what we have is a promise of victory(John16:33).
CONFESSION: I am coming out of my wilderness season a better person. I am not dying here neither will I waste away with the troubles of life. My spiritual strength is reinvigorated and I shall come out shining In Jesus name.
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